Reckless drivers will have to pay fines up to Dh50,000 to get their cars released for serious traffic offences in Abu Dhabi.
Any road and traffic offence in the UAE includes a fine and the car can be confiscated depending on the severity of the crime.
A car can be impounded when a driver jumps a red light, is dangerous or reckless on the road, is involved in unauthorised road racing, and deliberately collides into a police car.
Dangerous driving was responsible for the death of more than 60 people in the capital last year.
The new rule was enforced on Wednesday. Guilty drivers will also have their licence confiscated for six months.
Drivers will also have their cars seized if they allow children below 10 to sit in the front seat of a vehicle or use a car without a valid number plate.
A motorist who has accumulated more than Dh7,000 in fines will also have his car impounded.
The car will be released once all dues are cleared.
Abu Dhabi Police studies the causes of road accidents on a regular basis and adjusts punishments accordingly to deter people from committing those offences
Brig Gen Suhail Al Khaili, head of central operations in Abu Dhabi Police, said the listed offences have caused 41 per cent of road deaths, and 47 per cent of severe road injuries since 2017.
Last year, such behaviour on roads resulted in 894 crashes, 66 deaths, and 64 severe injuries, and more than 1,200 moderate and minor injuries.
“Abu Dhabi Police studies the causes of road accidents on a regular basis and adjusts punishments accordingly to deter people from committing those offences,” he said.
“And whether the violation [ends up] causing a crash or not, the goal is to correct motorists’ behaviour so everybody should undergo the stricter punishment.”
In the past, many reckless drivers were fined and jailed but that did not change their driving behaviour.
“We’ve witnessed many repeats, so the punishment wasn’t deterrent enough,” said Brig Gen Al Khaili.
Those who unintentionally collide with a police car will not be penalised, he said.
“There have been instances where drivers deliberately crash into a police patrol to prevent them from doing their job,” he said.
Motorists who fail to claim their impounded cars to avoid paying the fines - which sometimes may exceed the value of the car - will still be held accountable.
“The fines will be attached to their traffic code instead of the car,” he said.
Motorists have the right to appeal their case before a special committee.
The police will hold the car for three months before auctioning it to the public.
At the end of three months, authorities will publish a notice in the press and give another month to the owner to clear the fines and take possession of the vehicle.
The sale money will be used to settle outstanding fines.
Earlier, the cars were kept in yards for six months for the owners to show up and claim them back.
If the owner is out of the country, he can get the car back only if he clears the fines and it has not been transferred to another person.
In case of transfer of ownership, the sale money will be given to the original owner once he clears the outstanding dues.
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
The specs: 2019 Cadillac XT4
Price, base: Dh145,000
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 237hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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