Women are safest drivers in Dubai, police figures show

Half a million motorists kept a clean licence under a road safety drive last year — and 80 per cent of them were women. Women emerged as the safest sex on the road after Dubai Police, on Monday, revealed the data for an initiative that rewarded motorists for their good driving with a discount on their previously registered traffic fines. Of the 557,430 motorists given a discount on their fine, for not committing another traffic offence, 444,661 — or 80 per cent — were women. The scheme was launched by Dubai Police in February last year and, on Monday, was renewed for another year. Under the initiative, those who do not break any driving rules for three months will receive a 25 per cent discount on previous fines. Motorists who go six months without a fine are eligible for a 50 per cent discount and a nine-month streak earns drivers a 75 per cent discount. Motorists who go a year without committing a traffic offence would have their previous fines wiped entirely. Col Jumaa bin Suwaidan, deputy director of the traffic department at Dubai Police, said the total amount of money saved by motorists under the scheme amounted to Dh547m. He said a survey conducted by police revealed the initiative contributed to a 16 per cent drop in road traffic deaths and 38 per cent decline in the number of serious accidents compared to the same period the year prior. With less accidents on its roads, there was also a drop in medical bills, emergency transport costs and repair expenses for damaged roads and vehicles. "The scheme helped save Dh610m in repair and treatment costs, among others, because any accident that happens causes costly damages," said Col bin Suwaidan. Police confirmed last year that drivers would be able to benefit from a full discount as they no longer had to pay off previously accumulated fines when renewing their car licence. Residents had contacted police to ask how they could be eligible for the full discount if they had to pay off their fines when renewing their registration during a 12 month period. Col bin Suwaidan said a similar nationwide initiative may soon be launched by the Ministry of Interior to encourage safe driving. Brig Khalid Al Razooqi, director-general of Dubai Police's Artificial Intelligence department, said the discounts were automatically calculated and there was no application process. “The system automatically runs data every three months then rewards exemplary drivers by implementing the discounts for each period a driver spent without making traffic fines,” he said. An employee of Rashid Hospital, where people hurt in traffic accidents in Dubai are sent for treatment, said they saw the positive results of the drive first hand. "We have seen a drop in their numbers coming to hospital resulted from a decline in the number of accidents," said Aisha Al Kindi. The figures from police showed that Jordanian citizens were the best drivers with 176,987 of them having their fines reduced, making up a third of the total number of motorists who benefited from the scheme. They were followed by 164,976 motorists from the Philippines (30 per cent) and 128,553 Indian drivers (23 per cent). Jordanian Eyad Zalatimo, 46, had all his traffic fines accrued in Dubai, that amounted to Dh65,000, completely wiped. "I had a total of Dh80,000 in fines. Dh65,000 alone were accumulated in Dubai but police called to say that, because I did not break any traffic rules for a year, I earned myself a 100 per cent discount," said Mr Zalatimo. Emirati Ameera Ismael, 39, said she was motivated by the potential of a discount after accruing tens of thousands of dirhams in traffic fines. After hearing about the scheme last year, Ms Ismael decided to commit to good driving while dropping off and collecting her children from school. "I had Dh150,000 in fines for speeding on two cars, they were all removed for my good driving for a full year," she said.

Women are safest drivers in Dubai, police figures show

Of the 557,430 motorists who were awarded a discount on their fine for not committing another traffic offence, 444,661 — or 80 per cent — were women