Pay traffic fine before leaving the country

The traffic council has recommended to abolish issuing fines by hand and to shift to an e-system. - File photo used for illustrative purpose

 Soon, the traffic fines of the expatriates are likely to be linked with the immigration counters of the departure areas of various ports of the country, to prevent the violators from leaving the country without paying accumulated fines.
In a recent meeting of the Federal Traffic Council, presided over by Lt.-Gen. Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, a recommendation in this regard was submitted, said Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Director of the council.
The council has also recommended that drivers should disclose their illnesses in writing and the health authorities should give names of the people who are suffering from diseases that may hinder driving, to the licensing authorities.
If the recommendation gets approval, the drivers with accumulated traffic violation fines will be stopped at the port of departure - land, sea or air - whether they are leaving the country permanently or temporarily.
Such a linking will solve the issue of accumulated traffic fines, being faced by the traffic departments of the country, he said, adding that Emiratis, who have accumulated traffic fines, will be notified and all their traffic files will be stopped if they did not pay.
He noted if the recommendations are approved, smart devices and ATMs would be installed in addition to the available ones at the ports of departure to make the payment easier for the passengers. He also pointed out that some vehicle owners flee without paying the fines.
Drivers with illnesses
The council's recommendation said that the health departments and various bodies at the federal level should give the names of people who suffer from diseases that hinder safe driving including epilepsy, diabetes, heart diseases and others to show whether the disease level of the person will affect the ability to drive.
Al Zafeen said that he hoped that the initiative comes from the parents, or the drivers who want to obtain or renew the driving licences should notify the licensing authorities that they suffer from an illness. They should also bring a certified medical report from the medical authorities that states their disease does not affect their driving, and the certifying person would take full responsibility if a traffic accident is caused by the impact of the disease.
"If the disease was diagnosed after the issuance of the licence, the driver is liable to inform the authorities about the nature of illness," he added. Other recommendations of the meeting include conducting special awareness sessions by the traffic departments for drivers who are involved in a number of accidents.
Al Zafeen also stated that parents are not doing enough to educate their children about the dangers of reckless driving, speeding and committing traffic violations. When parents of a young, frequent violator is contacted by the police to for giving advice and awareness sessions, there should be proper follow-up to ensure that the violations are not repeated by the same person.
Unified timing for truck ban
The council suggested that discussions should be held among various departments concerned of all the emirates, including public work departments and roads and traffic authorities, about the appropriate and unified timings for a ban on the movement of trucks.

1. a failure to have unified timing would lead to a heavy traffic jam on many of the roads, especially on the vital roads that ink all the emirates.