The first day of the school year is usually one of the busiest on the country's roads during peak hours. Chris Whiteoak / The National
The first day of the school year is usually one of the busiest on the country's roads during peak hours. Chris Whiteoak / The National
The first day of the school year is usually one of the busiest on the country's roads during peak hours. Chris Whiteoak / The National
The first day of the school year is usually one of the busiest on the country's roads during peak hours. Chris Whiteoak / The National

UAE

Accident-Free Day: UAE police offer motorists chance to wipe black points from licence

Motorists can remove four points from their licence by steering clear of accidents on August 28

Ali Al Shouk
Ali Al Shouk

August 21, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

Motorists in the UAE can have four black points removed from their licence if they avoid having an accident or committing a traffic offence on the first day of school next week.

The Federal Traffic Council on Monday said drivers will have four black points removed if they sign an online pledge and do not breach traffic laws on August 28.

The incentive is part of the nationwide Accident-Free Day campaign.

Drivers can register on the Ministry of Interior website.

Brig Hussain Al Harthy, chairman of the Federal Traffic Council, urged drivers to take care as school buses return to the roads.

“Our aim is to spread awareness and traffic safety to all road users," he said.

“People who participate in the initiative and follow the rules will be rewarded with removing four black points in the traffic system.”

The first day of the school year is usually one of the busiest of the year.

“The choice of August 28 was made to coincide with the start of the school year, creating a preventive occasion where all sectors of society, both public and private, work towards accident-free roads and without hazards,” Brig Al Harthy said.

Motorists were urged to follow basic traffic rules, including fastening their seat belts, staying within the speed limit and leaving a safe distance between vehicles.

In 2019, as part of the same campaign, motorists in Dubai who signed an online pledge to take better care on the roads were offered a 50 per cent discount on vehicle confiscation fees.

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of crashes nationwide increased by 13 per cent to 3,945, up from 3,488, Ministry of Interior figures show.

The ministry said 343 people were killed in 2022, down from 381 the previous year.

The number of people injured in road collisions almost doubled to 5,045 – a sharp increase on the 2,620 recorded the year before.

Black point traffic offences in the UAE - in pictures

  • Drivers caught tailgating can have four black points imposed on their licence. The National
    Drivers caught tailgating can have four black points imposed on their licence. The National
  • Failing to wear a seatbelt can be penalised with four black points. Getty Images
    Failing to wear a seatbelt can be penalised with four black points. Getty Images
  • Reckless drivers overtaking on the hard shoulder face having six points added to their licence. Getty Images
    Reckless drivers overtaking on the hard shoulder face having six points added to their licence. Getty Images
  • Using a mobile phone behind the wheel is punishable with four black points. Getty Images
    Using a mobile phone behind the wheel is punishable with four black points. Getty Images
  • Motorists who fail to give way at pedestrian crossings can incur six black points. Getty Images
    Motorists who fail to give way at pedestrian crossings can incur six black points. Getty Images
  • The penalty for littering the road is six black points. Getty Images
    The penalty for littering the road is six black points. Getty Images
LIVERPOOL SQUAD

Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams

'My Son'

Director: Christian Carion

Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

Rating: 2/5

RESULTS

6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).

7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m

Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.

8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.

9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m

Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)

Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)

Lazio v Napoli (9pm)

Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)

Sunday

Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)

Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)

Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)

Torino v Bologna (6pm)

Verona v Genoa (9pm)

Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)

Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)

 

 

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1.20pm, Pitch 4, v Malta Marauders

Friday, December 1:

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