DUBAI // Drivers caught eating, applying make-up or adjusting their clothes while behind the wheel will be fined under proposals by Dubai Police.
Wearing seatbelts would also become compulsory for all car passengers, front and rear, and any passenger found not wearing a seat belt would be fined Dh400.
At the moment only drivers and front-seat passengers are required to buckle up.
Drivers caught wearing sunglasses at night would be fined Dh500, and those found driving with “neglect and lack of attention” would be fined Dh400.
No breakdown of what constitutes “neglect and lack of attention” was offered, but Maj Gen Mohammed Saif Al Zafffin, head of the traffic department, said it would include any action that diverted the attention of the driver from the road.
He gave the example of female drivers who put on make-up while behind the wheel.
Other behaviour police say should incur a fine would be eating, adjusting a ghutra or changing a shirt while driving.
“These are all examples that divert the driver’s attention from the road and also means he is not keeping his hands on the steering wheel at all times,” said Umran Abdullah of the Dubai Police traffic department.
Maj Gen Al Zaffin warned that all such behaviour “can have dramatic consequences on the road”.
Police are also proposing heavier fines for a number of offences. Officers want to double the penalty for refusing to give personal details to a traffic officer – from Dh500 to Dh1,000 – and to increase the fine for driving a car with an expired registration to Dh1,000.
Maj Gen Al Zaffin said the 14 amendments to the Federal Traffic Law police are suggesting to the Ministry of Interior were necessary to enforce the law and improve safety on the road.
“We submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Interior about two months ago and we are waiting for their response,” he said.
wissa@thenational.ae
