Motorbikers feel the heat for bending rules

Dubai: Motorbike riders must realise that they do not have special licence to zip between cars or on the hard shoulder, Dubai Police warned, in reaction to many riders claiming that they are increasingly being pulled over and fined.

Bikes are also being confiscated for a month depending on the seriousness of the violation.

Police pointed out that accidents and traffic violations involving motorbikes have increased in recent months, with most violations involving wrong overtaking.

Many bikers are pressed for time as they work in food delivery and courier services and often ride between cars to get ahead and avoid jams or lines at traffic lights.

A Pakistani worker, who uses a motorcycle to go around collecting payments for his company, said he was fined twice in less than two months for wrongful overtaking. His bike was also seized for a month.

Other bikers said they were stopped by police multiple times in the last two months or so.

“The police usually stop bikers in the morning rush hour on the roads leading into Dubai from Sharjah, especially on Ittihad Road near the Salik gate and on Damascus Road. They have become very strict in the last month or so. It was never like this,” one biker said.

Another biker, also from Pakistan, said he was recently fined Dh610 after being pulled over.

“Sometimes the police don’t speak to us. They only write down the details on the fine slip in Arabic, which we can’t read. It is not so easy to operate as a biker these days,” the expatriate added.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, many bikers said they often have to wait till dozens of bikers have been rounded up for violations. Those whose offences are serious have to surrender their bikes.

“Our licence and registration are taken and we are told to follow the police patrol to the vehicle confiscation yard,” a biker, who works in credit collection, said.

Colonel Jamal Al Bannai, acting director of Dubai Traffic Police, said that there is no official campaign against bikes, but Dubai Police are focusing more on bikes because of an increase in traffic accidents involving them.

“Many motorcyclists do not know that they have to follow the same traffic laws and regulations as cars and other vehicles. They should abide to their lane and not drive in between cars,” he said.

This, he explained, is for the motorcyclists’ benefit, as they will be the ones suffering the consequences of any accidents that many happen.

“Motorbikes do not have the safety features that are available in cars, so even the smallest accidents can result in injuries.”

The most common motorbike violations include overtaking incorrectly, driving on the hard shoulder, parking in the hard shoulder for no reason and not abiding by lane discipline.

In May, Dubai Traffic Police recorded 154 violations for overtaking incorrectly in just four days in the Deira area alone. Dubai Traffic Police divides Dubai into two jurisdiction areas, Deira and Bur Dubai.

In the first eight months of 2015, there were 79 accidents involving motorbikes, in which 89 people were injured and nine deaths. Of the 89 injuries, 14 were severe, 36 were moderate and 35 were minor.

In 2014, there were 104 accidents involving motorbikes, in which there were 124 people injured and 12 deaths. Of the 124 injuries, 11 were severe, 49 were moderate and 52 were minor.