Monday, March 24, 2008

Getting tough with motorists

The new and tougher penalties for bad driving are coming in to play, with Gulf News reporting heavy fines for drunks caught driving.

"The Dubai Traffic Court of First Instance gave the 34-year-old Emirati motorist a hefty Dh20,000 fine for reckless and drunk driving and jumping a red light...(he) crashed into another vehicle after he jumped a red light under the influence of alcohol. The court seized his driving licence for three months. He was also fined Dh500 for tinting his car windows 50 per cent.

The same court fined a 30-year-old female flight attendant from former Yugoslavia Dh10,000 for driving her car under the influence of liquor.

A similar fine (Dh10,000) was given to a 50-year-old Pakistani driver who was also found guilty of jumping a red signal when he drove his car inattentively and under the influence of alcohol.



Of all the dangerous driving on our roads, jumping red lights is, to me, the most dangerous of all.

It would seem that Traffic Police might agree with me, because they're planning to appeal the sentences. "We will be appealing these rulings to the Dubai Court of Appeal and ask for the implementation of the toughest punishments applicable under the newly revised law," Salah Bu Farousha, the Head of Dubai's Traffic Public Prosecution.

The law allows for jail in addition to fines and confiscation, so presumably that's what they'll be pushing for.

I'm with them all the way, I hope they're successful. We have to get these life-threatening morons off the roads now.

The full story is here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I totally agree for the harsh punishments. Maximum possible fine, confiscation of car, jail terms and cancellation of driving license, not confiscation rather cancellation of the license. I survived few days ago from a possible accident when after looking at the green signal for my side of traffic I tried to move my car forward and fortunately saw a moron in a SUV jumping the red line from other side and moving perpendicular to me crossed just centimeters away from my car. I could see the face of that moron who was laughing as he made me stop as if he achieved something out of this stupid action of his.

People like him should be put behind bars for at least one year.