These fines aren’t fine

Why were drivers allowed to stay on the road despite incurring massive amounts in speeding fines?

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Wondering how much one driver can accumulate in speeding fines? You might be surprised.

As The National reported yesterday, a motorist in Dubai has paid a whopping Dh300,000 in speeding fines.

The Emirati man is hardly alone. Now the driver topping the list of the 25 motorists with the most offences in Dubai is a Bangladeshi woman, with 204 violations, amounting to Dh201,570.

Surprisingly, just two months ago the woman had 188 traffic fines on her record, worth Dh186,900. An Emirati woman is second on the list with 76 violations worth more than Dh117,000. There are many more waiting to pay their mind-boggling dues.

The report raises many questions: didn’t these drivers receive alerts from the authorities? Why would someone repeat such a costly mistake? How many fines are too many to say goodbye to a driver’s licence? And most importantly, why were they allowed to stay on the road for so long?

We may not have answers to all of them, but one thing is clear: such reckless and ignorant behaviour doesn’t deserve a second chance.