UAE women beware: Don’t put on make-up while driving

Women should brace themselves to stop adding make up while driving as this will become a traffic offence punishable by a Dh400 fine when new proposals by Dubai’s traffic police are enforced through the UAE.

The penalty is part of 14 new amendments to the UAE federal traffic law proposed by Dubai’s traffic police and is awaiting approval by the cabinet in line with a strategy by the emirate to cut road deaths to zero in the long term.

The new amendment will be termed “negligence and non-attention” and it will also affect men adjusting their clothes, mainly those wearing the traditional Arabian dress—dishdasha and ghutra (head dress).

“We believe that these amendments to the federal traffic law will largely reduce accidents and road deaths as those offences, which some see as simple, are dangerous and contribute to more road casualties,” said Major General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, director of Dubai’s traffic police.

He said they include introducing a Dh400 fine for offences involving women adding make up while driving or men adjusting their dishdaha and ghutra.

“We thought about this because it has become a widespread habit mainly by women….we have also noticed many men trying to adjust their clothes and ghutra while driving…...this habit requires them to take their hands off the steering wheel and look into the mirror, which will only detract their attention,” he told the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Albayan.

“Our patrols have noticed many male and female drivers doing such things…having a law mentioning this behavior as an offence will be a deterrent to stop this phenomenon, which sometimes causes deaths…indeed, we have recorded some fatal accidents which were caused because of such acts or because some drivers spilt tea on their clothes while driving.”

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