DUBAI // Motorists who go the longest period without a traffic violation will be given priority in a new police system that rewards good driving with prizes, including a car.
Under the white points system, drivers of vehicles registered in Dubai are awarded a point for each month without traffic offences or Salik toll-road fines.
Drivers who go 12 months without any violations will be eligible for prizes worth a minimum of Dh500 each. Dubai Police say there will be between 250 to 500 prizes.
The head of Dubai Police traffic department, Maj Gen Mohammed Saif Al Zaffin, said today that if there were more good drivers than prizes then those with the longest standing clean sheets would be given priority.
“We have a specific budget for the prizes so there might need to be a selection process based on the number of people who will be eligible for a prize as part of the scheme,” Maj Gen Al Zaffin said.
There are about one million driving licences registered in Dubai. However, drivers who do not own a registered vehicle will be excluded from the scheme. Police will also check that people older than 60 who own a registered vehicle are still active drivers.
The scheme is being backdated to the start of this year, and the first winners will be told by text message at the beginning of February.
Drivers who keep a clean sheet for five consecutive years will be entered into a prize draw for a car.
The initiative aims to encourage well-behaved motorists and motivate less well-behaved ones to change their behaviour.
“We can never be sure of the exact effect this initiative will have on road safety, but we are hoping it will reduce accidents by 10 to 20 per cent in the long run,” said Maj Gen Al Zaffin.
Besides prizes, drivers will be able to use their white points to cancel black points accrued either before or after the clean sheet.
They will also be able to use them to cancel fines accumulated after their clean sheet, as long as the fine does not apply to an offence that also resulted in a black point.
Drivers who accumulate 12 white points but subsequently have their car confiscated will also be able to trade their points for the return of the vehicle – provided it has been impounded for no longer than one month.
Drivers who accumulate 12 to 24 black points in one severe traffic violation will not be awarded any white points for a year.
wissa@thenational.ae
