By Elizabeth Broomhall www.arabianbusiness.com
Dubai motorists notched up an additional AED72m in driving fines in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, the city’s Roads and Transport Authority said.
Law breakers in the emirate were hit with AED324m in fines for motoring offences committed around the UAE, compared with AED252m in the same quarter last year.
The most common offences among drivers included exceeding the speed limit by up to 40kph, and disturbing traffic flow, said Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of licensing at the RTA.
Dubai’s police chief Lt General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim last week said the emirate’s traffic police aimed to cut fatalities on the roads from 70 per 100,000 people, to zero in the next nine years.
The emirate has installed 27 new speed cameras in the emirate, bringing the total number of monitors to 309, in a bid to cut traffic accidents.
Speeding is responsible for 80 percent of road accidents in Dubai, government data shows.
The RTA said this week it is eyeing a nationwide law to clamp down on new motorists by restricting the type of car they can drive and the situations they are allowed to drive in.
Bahrozyan said a restricted licence, such as that seen in Canada, New Zealand and Australia could help tackle the high rate of road traffic accidents seen in the UAE.
