Unlicensed driver hits pedestrian at Dubai crossing, then leaves scene

Dubai: A young man who struck a pedestrian at a designated crossing in Dubai and then drove away without stopping to help has been fined Dh5,000, while the owner of the vehicle was also penalised for allowing him to drive despite knowing he did not hold a valid licence.

The Dubai Traffic Court found the driver responsible for causing the pedestrian’s injuries after he failed to pay adequate attention to road conditions or slow down as he approached the crossing in the Al Raffa area.

According to court case, the man was driving a vehicle belonging to the second defendant even though he did not have a valid driving licence authorising him to operate that type of vehicle, Emarat Al Youm reported.

He struck the pedestrian while the victim was crossing the road, causing bodily injury and damage to the vehicle. The driver then left the scene without stopping, assisting the injured person or calling for an ambulance.

The court said his responsibility went beyond causing the collision. It cited a series of offences beginning with driving without a valid licence, followed by failing to take sufficient care and reduce speed at the pedestrian crossing, and ending with leaving the scene despite knowing that someone had been injured.

The findings were supported by the traffic report, a diagram of the collision, inspections carried out after the incident and the driver’s admission during the investigation.

The court also convicted the vehicle’s owner after finding that he had knowingly allowed the first defendant to drive despite being aware that he did not hold a licence issued by the UAE licensing authorities.

Judges considered that decision to amount to participation through agreement and assistance in the offence of driving without a licence, reasoning that the offence could not have occurred in the same way had the owner not handed over the vehicle.

The court said the defendants’ admissions were consistent with the traffic report, inspection findings and accident diagram, strengthening the evidence against them.

Three offences attributed to the driver, negligently injuring another person, damaging property and leaving the scene without justification, were treated as inseparably linked because they arose from the same act.

The court imposed a Dh3,000 fine for those related offences and a further Dh2,000 fine for driving without a valid licence, bringing the driver’s total penalty to Dh5,000.

The vehicle owner was fined Dh1,000 for allowing an unlicensed person to drive his car.