The Dubai Police have launched an awareness campaign of Decree No. (30) of 2023 amending some articles of Decree No. (29) of 2015 concerning the impoundment of vehicles in the emirate of Dubai.

This announcement came during a press conference held at Dubai Police Headquarters, attended by Major General Abdullah Ali Al Ghaithi, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Operations Affairs at Dubai Police; Brigadier Juma bin Suwaidan, Acting Director of the General Department of Traffic; Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Saud Al Rumaithi, Director of Security Awareness in the General Department of Community Happiness, along with several officers and journalists.

Major General Al Ghaithi clarified that the campaign, which is launched per the directives of His Excellency Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, aims to raise legal awareness among all motorists about the new legal amendments, designed primarily to protect lives and property and ensure traffic safety in Dubai, thus aligning with the nation’s strategic objective of reducing the traffic death rate per 100,000 population.

According to Major General Al Ghaithi, the legal amendments support the push towards preserving lives amidst statistics on road accidents, adding that the amendments target reckless drivers, and that the harsh fines it introduces are against “vehicle impound release”, not for the value of the traffic violation that is applied under the federal traffic law.

Dubai Police recorded 164 fatalities from 2019-2022 due to over speeding, reckless driving, serious traffic violations, and jumping red lights.

The changes in the new decree-law include a stringent penalty for releasing impounded vehicles and an additional penalty for impounding vehicles for new violations committed by drivers who endanger their lives and the lives of others by participating in races, performing stunts, causing chaos, deliberately jumping red traffic lights, and driving with fake or no license plates.

Brigadier Juma bin Suwaidan explained that each case is presented to a specialised committee in the General Department of Traffic to determine whether the violation rises to the level of applying this fine or not.

Brigadier Juma bin Suwaidan explained the new amendments to the law concerning vehicle impoundment, which cover 13 types of violations, including seven new points added as part of the second article. Violations include:

• Jumping red lights.
• Driving with fake or obscured number plates.
• Deliberately colliding with police cars.
• Allowing individuals under 18 to drive vehicles.
• Gathering to watch or participate in illegal races.

The fine for releasing an impounded vehicle for these violations is 50,000 AED.

Additionally, violations also include:

• Driving without license plates.
• Gathering to watch or participate in disorderly crowding around races or vehicle stunts on the road.
• Exceeding the permissible tinting limit for vehicle windows.

The fine for releasing an impounded vehicle for these violations is 10,000 AED.

Brigadier Bin Suwaidan stated that the remaining six grounds for impounding vehicles include “participating in road races without prior permission from the police”, with a 100,000 AED fine. Additional violations include “riding recreational motorcycles on paved roads” and “recklessly driving in a way that endangers lives, property, and public safety in the Emirate”. The fines for these two offences are set at 50,000 AED each.

He added that the fine for the violation of “making fundamental changes to the vehicle that result in an increase in the set speed or noise during operation or driving” and the offence of “escaping from the police” amount to 10,000 dirhams each. The final violation is “exceeding the financial fine imposed on the vehicle by 6000 dirhams”; the penalty for this offence involves paying the accumulated fine amount.

On the newly launched campaign, Lt. Col Dr Saud Al Rumaithi explained that the campaign will run over seven weeks. “It consists of two stages, the first being “The Awareness and Education Phase”, while the second will measure the impact and results of this awareness on the motorists,” he said.

Al Rumaithi further explained that the campaign will include raising awareness through various online and print media outlets, as well as through strategic partners of the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai (RTA), driving institutes, petrol station screens, the Dubai Police HQ screens, Al Ameen’s billboards, emails, through the ‘On-the-Go’ initiative, residential area billboards, and ‘Dubai Now’ app.

The campaign will be implemented in cooperation with partners in Dubai Municipality, the Public Prosecution, the Supreme Legislation Committee, the Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs, the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, Emirates Auctions, Al Nabooda, BMW -Dubai, and the Insurance Authority in Dubai.

Brigadier Bin Suwaidan revealed that the number of vehicles impounded by the Dubai Police for speeding during the four years from 2019 to 2022 reached 34 cars due to reckless driving endangering lives, it reached 1929, and the number of vehicles impounded for running a red light was 558 cars throughout these four years.