NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL
Sports car driver has Dh76,000 in traffic fines
DUBAI - FEB 23: The man who was called into a police station yesterday to pay his traffic fines was offered something of a shock. The bill for his traffic violations for 2008 and 2009 came to nearly Dh76,000 (US$20,600).
“Driving a sports car does encourage bad driving,” said the man, a 28-year-old Indian who works at an architecture and interior design firm in Dubai. “But I think the reason why it has come to this is because the driving behaviour in this country triggers speeding.”
The man, F S, who was born and raised in Dubai, said he bought the object of his desire, a new Dodge Charger, two years ago and has not been able to control his reckless driving since.
The net result is that he owes Dh37,190 in fines mostly for speeding and parking violations. But he has other violations too: Dh2,000 in Abu Dhabi, Dh5,800 in Sharjah, Dh10,000 in Umm al Qaiwain, Dh110 in Ajman, Dh400 in RAK, plus Dh15,480 for not paying the Salik road toll, and Dh4,350 in RTA fines. In total, he committed 469 traffic violations in all the emirates except in Fujairah.
And he is not alone in his costly habit.
A Moroccan woman has accumulated more than Dh54,000 worth of fines in Dubai alone, police say.
The woman, identified as N L, works as a saleswoman in a department store in Emirates Mall. She has collected more than Dh70,000 of fines in the UAE, including Dh54,520 in Dubai in 2008 and 2009, mostly in speeding (radar) and parking fines.
Col Saif Muhair al Mazrouei, the Deputy Director of the Department of Traffic, said the woman was contacted about the fines but that she failed to turn up and make payments.
“We were surprised to discover that during that one month in which she was initially contacted her fines went up from Dh16,000 to Dh54,500,” he said.
The woman did not wish to comment.
F S, meanwhile, accumulated more than Dh37,000 worth of fines in Dubai alone. He said he was unaware of his offences because he had never checked his traffic record before police broke the news to him.
“I received a call from police on Thursday who asked me to come in and discuss a solution to my situation,’’ he said. “We have worked out a plan to pay by instalments, around Dh3,000 a month.”
Realising the potential of what Dh3,000 a month could mean in lifestyle choices, F S, who earns Dh10,000 a month, acknowledged: “I could do something better with this money. I feel bad.”
F S does not plan to take his case to a judge who could potentially reduce his fines, saying he wanted to take responsibility for his actions.
“I’m embarrassed and I regret I am in this situation,’’ he said. “I won’t take my case in front of a judge to argue anything because it’s time consuming and pointless.
“The fines are all listed and I have to pay them. I have to take responsibility.’’
Included among the fines F S needs to pay is one for parking on a water hazard and one for running a red light. Most of his fines stemmed from being clocked by speed radars on Sheikh Zayed Road, he said, or at the parking lot where he works.
“I have to go out every hour to buy a parking ticket,” he said. “It is very hard to do this as sometimes you can forget, or you will go into a meeting for several hours and by then I’ll be fined.”
An alternative solution, he said, could be having all day tickets, which would spare thousands of others the burden of having to step out of the office every hour.
F S said that although he was taking responsibility for the violations, others may be to blame. “I’m not the only person who drives my car,’’ he said.
“My sister often uses my car to go to university. I might have to look into seeing who should pay what, but at the end of the day it’s me who has to pay.”
As police prepared to impound his car, a black Dodge Charger with a visible dent in the left front side, F S said: “I have decided never to buy a sports car again.
“I have had this car for two years and that’s when all the violations started.
“In the past I drove a Mazda 6, a Honda and a Range Rover and never had this problem,” he added.
Apple iPhone makes solemn debut in UAE
UAE - FEB. 23: The Apple iPhone made a subdued official debut yesterday, in contrast to the impromptu street parties and queues wrapping around city blocks that met its launch in other countries.
Etisalat issued a single teaser advertisement this month and kept quiet until releasing a statement announcing the launch details on Saturday afternoon.
Its sales staff set up special booths in retail outlets including Virgin Megastores and iStyle, an officially licensed Apple reseller.
The booths in Abu Dhabi and Dubai took questions from prospective customers and had sold only a small number of the phones by midday.
The pace is expected to pick up as promotions intensify.
Thousands of local mobile users have already acquired iPhones through grey-market importers.
Sales staff at Etisalat outlets said those users, or customers who acquired them overseas, could switch to iPhone packages without buying a new handset. They also said customers could switch between the different pricing plans.
Etisalat is selling the iPhone unlocked, meaning owners can use the phone on the du network or with other international operators.
However, customers wishing to cancel their contract would have to pay penalty fees. Those charges could be up to Dh7,000 (US$1,905), depending on the package chosen.
Etisalat offers two packages where the customer effectively pays upfront for the phone. On these deals, only a Dh300 termination fee is charged.
On other plans where the handset price is subsidised, customers must pay out the full 12 months of fees.
Each package includes a set amount of voice-call minutes, text messages and data downloads.
When customers exceed these limits, calls and text messages are charged at the standard rate paid by all Etisalat customers.
Additional data downloads above the set limit are charged at Dh8.66 a megabyte, sales staff said, meaning that while a Dh643 a month package includes 2GB of data downloads, an extra 1GB of data above this limit would cost the user more than Dh8,600.
There has been no word yet from du, Etisalat’s local competitor, on whether it will offer the iPhone.
Its chief executive, Osman Sultan, has previously said the company has been negotiating with Apple “since the beginning” regarding the phone.
Company officials declined to comment yesterday.
Aquarium fee deters visitors
DUBAI - FEB. 23: Dubai Mall has introduced admission charges for its aquarium, stopping people viewing the fish for free as they stroll between shops.
Shoppers used to be able to edge close to the aquarium’s enormous glass and take photos beside the fish, with the only charges being for a walk through the 270-degree tunnel. But mall officials have installed a barrier between the screen and the free area, which it says will improve viewing.
There is now a Dh25 (US$6.80) charge for adults and Dh20 for children, which includes a closer look at the 50m-long screen and going under the tunnel.
“The new system recently introduced at Dubai Aquarium gives priority access and an opportunity for visitors to come close to the viewing panel,” said a spokesperson from the Dubai Mall.
She said the system is also designed to improve the queues for the tunnel.
But visitors have rejected the new charges as a profitmaking scheme.
Sarah Hunt, a British tourist, said she was appalled by the change.
“Now the photos that people want to take will be ruined unless you pay up,” Ms Hunt said.
“It seems like a moneymaking scheme to me. I am glad I managed to visit before the charges were in place.
“It’s not so much the expense, just the principle because a lot of families will be inconvenienced now.”
Neelum Mohammed, who visited the aquarium last week, said the mall is big enough to accommodate a free area closer to the screen.
“This is the world’s biggest mall we are talking about,” Ms Mohammed said. “If they had blamed it on flash photography for the safety of the fish or kids knocking the glass, I would understand. But I think it’s probably just a way of making more money from tourists.”