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The high fines are a perfect deterrent

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Unless people get the message that putting others at risk will hurt them tangibly this tribe does not take the rules seriously

Published: Wed 20 May 2020, 11:29 AM

Updated: Wed 20 May 2020, 1:53 PM

  • By
  • Bikram Vohra


The high fines for breaking the rules of conduct during the Covid-19 crisis may sound draconian but the idea really is to ensure they act as a deterrent. We have seen in several countries how a small minority of careless or thoughtless people have behaved irresponsibly and jeopardized those who are following the law. If it was not for them and their stubbornness the graph would be lower.
Unless they get the message that putting others at risk will hurt them tangibly this tribe does not take the rules seriously. These new numbers may not hurt them physically but however deep your pockets are coughing up fines is not a pleasant experience. We feel the pinch even paying an unexpected traffic violation and regret it for days.
In a perfect world there would be no fines from authorities in cases like this where the effort is herculean to keep us safe. Why on earth would we object to that goal by taking foolish risks? And yet, there are those among us that do.
The Safety Report, says: "When we're used to taking a certain type of action in a given situation, but are placed in a similar situation with different rules, we will break them merely out of habit." Others think they are expressing individuality and still others believe the rules are not for them. One of the justifications that people give themselves when they do the dirty is that the rules were causing them inconvenience, What they fail to realise is that their conceived inconvenience is mere bagatelle compared to the risk put to others who might be total strangers.
Why would you hesitate to be tested.don't you want to save your own life? Just like folks are dumb enough not to wear a seatbelt, there are those who will not wear a mask in the vehicle.
I ask you, what price social distancing as your best defence and you would break it to prove what point exactly. Your independence? Your moral courage? Your guts? Just your stupidity.
It is Dh5,000 to Dh10,000 for contributing to a social gathering. If you knowingly do that then don't cry about the fine, you have asked for it.
It is sadly amusing that people would reject home quarantine or backing off a thermal camera. The message behind the fines is simply to rein these people in. In an ideal world, there would not be one example of a fine being paid because it is just basic smarts to save yourself and not endanger others. -bikram@khaleejtimes.com



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