Dubai implements 30% discount on traffic violation fines

Motorists in Dubai will be eligible for a 30 percent discount on their traffic fines from Sunday as part of a move to encourage more drivers to pay their outstanding fines. Drivers across the emirate have three months to pay outstanding fines at the discounted rate for violations committed before Saturday. Dubai motorists have notched up AED369m ($100m) of outstanding fines, according Dubai Police Traffic Department.Traffic violations in the first quarter reached AED324m, compared to AED252m in the same period last year, the Roads and Transport Authority said in August. All fines must be paid all at once, in cash or using a credit card.  The discount period might be extended after it ends on December 11, local press reported.The most common offences among drivers included exceeding the speed limit by up to 40kph, and disturbing traffic flow, the RTA said.Dubai Police said in June that its traffic force aimed to cut fatalities on the roads from 70 per 100,000 people, to zero deaths within the next nine years. Speeding is responsible for 80 percent of road accidents in Dubai, government data shows. Dubai police in August said they had installed secret cameras on all major roads across the emirate to help them immediately identify drivers who violate the law. Police monitoring Dubai’s roads will be able to use the new technology to zoom in and out of various locations, enabling them to issue fines more immediately.“Almost all major roads are covered by these cameras. Motorists do not expect us to be monitoring them but they should know that we are always there. Officers from the control room will be monitoring them all 24 hours working in four shifts and will be able to trace every violation,” Lieutenant Ahmed Yaser Amiri, head of the “We Are All Police” campaign, told Emirates 24/7.