Dubai Police issue more than 8,000 fines to delivery riders breaking fast-lane rules

Dubai Police have imposed thousands of fines on delivery riders for flouting a fast-lane ban since it came into effect at the start of the month.

The force barred delivery riders from using the two far-left lanes on roads with five lanes or more and from using the farthest left lane – widely known as the fast or overtaking lane – on roads with three or four lanes, from November 1.

Police on Thursday urged bikers to abide by traffic regulations, after revealing they had issued 8,152 penalties since the law was introduced. On roads with two lanes or fewer, there will be no restrictions on which lanes delivery bikes may use.

Delivery riders call for patience as Dubai and Sharjah fast lane bans come into force

Delivery riders call for patience as UAE fast lane ban comes into force today

Police said the directives were being introduced in response to a concerning rise in the number of accidents involving delivery riders. They are an expansion of existing laws barring riders from using the furthest left lane on roads and from travelling at more than 100kph, introduced in 2021.

Maj Gen Saif Muhair Al Mazrouei, assistant commander-in-chief for operations affairs at Dubai Police, previously said the measures were aimed at reducing road deaths.

"It will play a key role in enhancing road safety, promoting compliance with traffic laws, and ensuring better control of road traffic, thereby preventing accidents that could have serious consequences for road users.

“Statistical reports have shown a concerning rise in traffic accidents involving delivery motorcycles due to reckless and non-compliant riding behaviour on high-speed lanes. Police data recorded 854 traffic accidents last year and 962 accidents in 2025, resulting from violations committed by delivery riders.

What are the penalties?

Riders will be fined Dh500 for a first breach of the restricted lane rules
A Dh700 fine will be imposed for a second offence
Riders will have their licences suspended if found to have committed a third offence
Those exceeding 100 kmph on roads with speed limits of 100 kmph or above will be fined Dh200 for a first offence, rising to Dh300 for a repeat offence and Dh400 for a third offence

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”