Tougher penalties needed to stamp out reckless driving in the UAE

Road safety experts have called for tougher penalties and stricter enforcement for drag racers and reckless drivers.

ABU DHABI // Road safety experts have called for tougher penalties and stricter enforcement of the law on drag racers and reckless drivers.

Fines are not sufficient enough of a deterrent, they said.

“Changing road user behaviour is not a quick fix and increasing the level of fines is not necessarily going to achieve that aim,” said Simon Labbett, regional director for the Transport Research Laboratory, a UK consultancy.

“Some may consider the fine as no more than a cost for the right to continue to drive in a way that they want, regardless the risk to others and poor image that it portrays for the emirate.”

Mr Labbett's comments came after a new law last week targeting drag racers, owners of illegally modified vehicles, those caught riding quad bikes on roads and repeat traffic offenders.

Police can seize a vehicle if its owner has more than Dh6,000 in fines, if it is being driven by someone whose licence has been expired for more than three months, if it is being driven in a reckless manner or if the motorist is trying to evade the police, according to Decree No 29 of 2015.

The law was issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Offenders can expect to pay a hefty fine if their car is impounded or if it has been used in drag racing.

The fine is Dh50,000 if a quad bike is used on a paved road.

However, many people have more than one car and if it is seized, they can continue to drive, Mr Labbett said.

“Many have high incomes and increased fines will not impact their lifestyle,” he said.

“Suspension, or restrictions, on their driving licences, however, removes or controls that entitlement, ” he said. Glenn Havinoviski, associate vice-president of the US traffic management company Iteris, agreed.

“The punishment needs to include penalties such as suspension or loss of driver licences so the driver doesn’t merely try to do the same thing in another vehicle,” he said.

“Regulations should also restrict people from acquiring another vehicle while one is seized by police.”

Mr Labbett suggested a review of the black points system to “ensure sustainable and meaningful change in road-user behaviour”.

“In the UAE, if you accrue more than 24 points in a year your licence is suspended,” he said.

“In Europe, the number of points is half that and the penalties last for at least three years, not just 12 months, an approach that provides a far greater deterrent to a driver.”

Kamui Mahtani, 27, a Dubai resident from Japan who owns a modified Honda S2000, is concerned about the police cracking down on modified cars.

“What makes a car illegally modified?” he said.

“Are the police knowledgeable about these modifications?

“If on the same road, there are two cars: one is a modified car that is driving sensibly and the other is a standard vehicle that’s swerving and driving dangerously – is it right for the police to stop the modified vehicle?”

Regulations on the use of racing cars on the streets should include noise ordinances that prohibit vehicles from achieving a particular decibel level, Mr Havinoviski said.

Vehicles, he said, need to be tested to ensure their exhaust and emissions meet minimum requirements.

“The most effective way is restricting the driver himself, not just taking away the vehicle,” he said. “He can get another one unless you can introduce restrictions to his doing so.”