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29 March 2024

Dubai Police recovers Dh992m in unpaid fines

Published
By Mohammed Al Sadafy

The inquiry team of the General Department of Traffic, Dubai Police, has recovered Dh922.4 million from about 1,520,213 tickets that drivers failed to pay between 2009 until end-October, according to a top police official.

Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zaffin, Director, General Department of Traffic, Dubai Police, said during the first 10 months of this year, fines for 600,127 tickets were recovered while 554,160 tickets were paid last year and 365,926 were paid in 2009.

He said the Dubai Traffic Department set up the investigation team in  2009 as several motorists refused to pay fines accumulated for traffic violations.

Maj-Gen Al Zaffin said a number of fines had to be cancelled because the number plates of cars noted were wrong.

The team that aided in recovering the fines comprised three sections - Administrative Division, which was entrusted with the responsibility of collecting photos of violating vehicles from the database. The Follow-up Division that collected detailed information about vehicles and the Field Division that contacted owners of violating vehicles.

Motorists use various means to avoid paying fines and cheating speed radars on roads, he added. So speed cameras are now upgraded to take pictures of rare number plates, too. Earlier, only the front number plate was captured on radars and some drivers tampered with the plate and blurred the numbers on them, said Maj-Gen Al Zaffin.
 
Impounded vehicles will be referred to court.First-time offenders will be ordered to pay fine and the vehicle will be confiscated for varied durations depending on teh severity of the offence.

In the last three years, eight criminal cases have been filed against motorists for tampering with number plates and 263 cars impounded.