'Have no fear': Abu Dhabi Police pull over drivers to reward safe driving, not issue fines

Patrolling the highways, streets, and neighbourhoods of the Capital from north to south, two Abu Dhabi policemen were on the lookout—not to penalise drivers, but to reward.

Major Khaled Al Dhaheri and first warrant officer Omar Al Shehhi were on a regular Traffic Happiness Patrol Monday morning, searching for signs of good driving.

Driving a UAE-made Rabdan 4x4, decorated with festive colours and smiley faces, the vehicle looked anything but like a typical police car—until the flashing blue and red lights lit up. Even then, many road users appeared sceptical.

As they drove down Airport Road, the officers spotted a taxi and decided to pull it over. After turning on the overhead police lights, they followed the driver for a few metres, but the taxi continued driving.

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"It happens quite often that motorists get confused when we start following them, and they don't stop immediately."

Officer Al Shehhi drove by the driver's side and signalled him to pull over. The confused cabbie rolled down his window and asked if "something was wrong".

"Stop after the traffic light on the right," the officer told him.

Major Al Dhaheri walked over to the driver carrying a gift bag. "We are the Happiness Patrol, not like normal police patrols; we stopped you because you are a good driver," he explained.

Before the officer could finish his sentence, the driver, Joseph Quayson, replied in shock: "But why? I don't understand."

Once the confusion was cleared, the 32-year-old Ghanaian driver stepped out of the car with a big smile, gratefully accepting his prize. He then posed for a photo with Major Al Dhaheri.

"At first, I thought the police car wanted to overtake me, so I moved away from the lane; I didn't think he would stop me, but they continued driving behind me, which scared me."

Incidentally, the day before, Quayson was stopped and fined by the police for changing lanes without displaying the indicator. "I learnt my lesson and was cautious of all rules today. I've been driving here for five years. I was never stopped for something like this before; I was only stopped twice to be fined."

A few minutes later, the patrol officers followed a black BMW driving down the Corniche. "The driver is sticking to the speed limit and showing an indicator even though the road is empty," said Major Al Dhaheri.

They again turned on the police lights, but the motorist continued to drive away. Officer Al Shehhi honked and instructed the driver to park on the side after the traffic light.

Zohair Ksontini, 50, was all smiles once the major explained who they were. "I've been here for a year, and the police never stopped me; I got scared at first and started wondering if I had done anything wrong. I was in front of a red light when I saw the car behind me and didn't know where to stop," said the executive director from Tunis.

Uber driver Baiju Jayarajan, who has been driving in Abu Dhabi for 17 years, had never once been stopped by traffic police. Little did he know, the day he was finally pulled over would turn out to be a pleasantly surprising experience.

"I was only stopped a few years back by CID because I returned home late from the cinema. I live in Al Bateen, and they were monitoring the neighbourhood," said the 34-year-old from India.

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