Dh1,000 fine if you park in disableds' slots

Motorists who illegally park their vehicles in slots reserved for people with special needs face a fine of Dh1,000 and four black points, Dubai Police have said. Meanwhile, Dubai Police on Monday announced the launch of a campaign to persuade motorists to respect the rights of people with special needs. The 10-day campaign’s slogan is ‘Stand next to them, not in their places.’ Colonel Jamal Al Bannai, deputy director-general at the Directorate of Traffic of Dubai Police, announced at a press conference that the campaign comes after an increase in the number of tickets issued for parking in places reserved for disabled people. There were 9,893 such violations in 2012, 8,317 in 2013, 9,405 in 2014 and 10,265 in the first 11 months of 2015. Colonel Al Bannai said that though the number of parking slots for motorists with special needs was less than one per cent of the total, some people deliberately park their vehicles in these reserved places even when alternate slots are available. He said there are radar devices specialising in catching offenders using parking slots reserved for disable people. A few people, including women and people of many nationalities, have been found to commit this offence repeatedly, he added.