Abu Dhabi: An American tourist committed 24 speeding violations in less than 24 hours, including 22 in just 46 minutes, racking up fines worth nearly Dh20,000 during a maiden visit to the UAE recently.
Businessman Jonathan Beall from Texas, USA, was driving on the Dubai-Al Ain road in a rented Mercedes Benz on September 24 when he was caught exceeding the 100km/h speed limit several times.
As many as 22 violations were recorded within the first 50 minutes of the journey, with speed cameras flashing at him almost every two minutes between 8.19am and 9.05am.
Beall was driving at speeds ranging from 130 to 150km/h. The upper limit on the stretch is 120km/h.
Documents pulled from the Abu Dhabi Police e-service system by the car rental company SIXT show the first violation occured at 8.19am on Dubai’s Oud Mehta Road followed by a string of speeding violations until 10.37am in Al Ain. The last fine was at 10.32pm.
Explanation sought
“Something is amiss because as per the records shared by the car rental firm, I exceeded the speed limit twice at 8.36am in Al Ain and then in Dubai at 8.38am. Surely I can’t be at both places at the same time,” said Bell who cleared the fines before leaving the country. “I got flashed by the camera only once. I immediately called a friend who told me I won’t be violating [the speed limit] if I stayed within 20km/h of the maximum speed limit and I did just that,” added Bell who was visiting Al Ain to meet a friend.
Multiple fines
“We visited Shaikh Zayed Mosque, kayaked in the mangroves. I returned to Dubai via Al Ain after dropping off my friend as I had to catch a late-night flight. But when I went to the car rental company at the airport to return the car, I was told I had fines worth Dh19,800, including one for speeding in Al Ain at 10.32pm. It was hard to believe that I was in Al Ain at 10.32pm and yet made it to Dubai Airport to catch the flight,” said Beall.
Car rental company SIXT said they followed procedure and charged the client for the violations he had committed.
“The documents are proof he was speeding. We have also pulled out photos from the RTA that show he was driving at 10km to 40km over the permitted limit,” said a SIXT staff.
Beall said he would like authorities to look into the incongruities in the fines and ensure the infractions were indeed his.
