DUBAI // A man who committed six traffic offences in 30 minutes has had his fines waived after he presented proof that his wife was in labour.
Maj Gen Mohammed Al Zafeen, assistant to the Dubai Police chief for operations, said that the man was speeding as he drove his wife to hospital.
“She was in so much pain that they couldn’t wait for the ambulance to arrive, so he transported her himself,” he said. “We understood his excuse and the fines against him were cancelled.”
He said it was better to use emergency vehicles to get to hospitals because they were “equipped to deal with such circumstances and the law states that other vehicles must give it right of way”.
In another incident, a man was given seven fines the same day, claiming he was late for his father’s funeral.
“The man did not present evidence that his father died the day he received all the traffic fines,” said Maj Gen Al Zafeen. “It is unusual for a person to not know beforehand when his father’s funeral will be and to break all these traffic laws.”
He said traffic fines racked up while speeding to emergencies can be waived. “If they present proof, the police will be understanding,” he said.
Maj Gen Al Zafeen said every circumstance was studied on a case-by-case basis.
Police also reported that 1,628 drivers licences were suspended last year for incurring more than 24 black points.
There are five traffic violations that result in the immediate suspension of a drivers licence, including driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, traffic violations on tram lines, driving a vehicle with no licence plate and not stopping after being involved in an incident that resulted in injuries.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
