More than 244,000 Dubai drivers steer clear of traffic offences this year

Dubai Police said the emirate's safest motorists were aged 41 and above

Drivers of vehicles registered in Dubai are eligible for prizes for keeping points and penalties off their licences. Photo: AP

More than 244,000 Dubai drivers have clean driving records so far this year after not committing a single traffic offence, police said on Tuesday.

Dubai Police hailed the encouraging figures at an event announcing the results of its annual “white points” campaign, which rewards motorists for driving safely.

The road safety campaign was launched in 2013, when only 10,371 drivers went through the year without flouting rules or picking up a speeding fine.

The latest statistics represent a sharp increase on the 175,896 who had exemplary driving records in 2021, although this figure was for the entire calendar year.

Drivers of vehicles registered in Dubai are eligible for prizes for keeping points and penalties off their licences.

“There is a huge increase in the number of good drivers in Dubai,” said Lt Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, commander-in-chief of Dubai Police.

“It is an important initiative and a good channel between the force and the community members. It rewards safe drivers and sends a positive message for others.”

Drivers receive two white points for each month they do not commit a traffic offence.

Dubai Police held a draw to pick 4,600 of the 244,446 drivers to be rewarded with gifts and vouchers, with two Emirati women winning new cars.

“We introduced the ‘white points’ system to motivate drivers to abide by traffic laws and regulations. White points are rewarded to drivers who have not committed a road violation and do not have any pending fines.”

Brig Jumaa bin Suwaidan, deputy director of Dubai Police's traffic department, said prize winners would be given the opportunity to remove some minor offences off their record.

Safest drivers aged over 40

The white point drivers included 194,920 men and 49,526 women, with the total figure including 136,832 Asian drivers and 49,271 from Arab countries.

There were 12,351 Emirati motorists.

The safest age group was those 41 and over, who made up 119,431 of those with unblemished records this year.

Accidents down in Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurates the Smart Centre for Traffic Management. All photos: Dubai Media Office

The Intelligent Traffic System cost Dh590 million ($160.6m) and centralises a network of smart cameras linked to databases.

The traffic centre is one of the biggest and most sophisticated in the world.

It was developed to meet the needs of Dubai's rapid urban growth, the infrastructure expansion required for Expo 2020 Dubai, and also to support current and future transport systems.

The centre expands the coverage of intelligent traffic systems from 11 per cent to 60 per cent of the road network in the emirate and improves detection times for accidents.

More than 110 cameras were installed to measure the average speed of cars, while 17 weather-sensing stations were also established. All data is put into a system monitored by officers who can also issue important messages to the public from the centre.

Twenty-seven people were killed and 655 were injured in road accidents in Dubai during the first half of the year, a significant decline from the same period of last year, when 61 people died and 1,100 were injured.

Police said that 2,285 vehicles were involved in road accidents in the first six months of this year, down from 3,749 in the corresponding period last year.

A Dubai smart traffic management system which has helped cut accident response times and congestion is to expand across the emirate's main road network.

The second phase of the Intelligent Transports Systems project will begin in the coming months, the Roads and Transport Authority said in October, and will see the total length of roads covered go from 480 kilometres to 710km.

The initial phase saw coverage extend to 60 per cent of the emirate’s road infrastructure.

“The project has improved incident monitoring by 63 per cent, shortened the response time to emergencies by 30 per cent, and cut the travel time by 20 per cent,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director general and chairman of the RTA's board of executive directors.

“The first phase of the project had seen several achievements highlighted by the construction of the Dubai ITS Centre.

“This facility is one of the largest and most sophisticated traffic control centres worldwide in terms of using smart technology, managing traffic systems, and supporting both current and future transportation modes.”

The centre’s system collects and analyses data to help ensure the smooth flow of traffic and help make instant decisions when it comes to accidents and “mega events” in the city.