Traffic fine defaulters face legal action

Dubai: Motorists, who have delayed paying traffic fines for long periods, will be sued in court, the Dubai Police Chief said on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim said: "We will use a new mechanism this year to take motorists, who do not pay their traffic fines for a long time or have large amounts of accumulated fines, to court. Either they pay or face jail," he said.

Lieutenant General Dahi added there was a 12 per cent decline in road deaths last year compared to 2007.

He said deaths in road accidents on Dubai roads declined from 332 deaths in 2007 to 294 deaths in 2008.

Lieutenant General Dahi said the traffic department collected Dh600 million in traffic fines that were issued in 2008.

The traffic department reported more than 2,4 million traffic fines in 2008 compared to more than two million fines in 2007.

Lieutenant General Dahi said the common reasons behind accidents included lack of consideration for road users, which claimed 96 lives in 2008 compared to 124 lives in 2007.

Over-speeding resulted in 45 deaths in 2008 compared to 77 deaths in 2007. Sudden swerving caused 25 deaths in 2008 compared to 34 deaths in 2007.

Emirates Road is the deadliest in terms of road deaths. There were 46 deaths on the road in 2008 compared to 67 deaths in 2007. Shaikh Zayed Road followed with 24 deaths in 2008 compared to 54 deaths in 2007.