NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL
Speeding fines cut in half 'for an indefinite period'
ABU DHABI - JUNE 30: Drivers who owe unpaid fines for speeding and other traffic offences are being treated with “sympathy” by the traffic and patrols department and will be given a 50 per cent discount on outstanding debts.
The new legislation, law number 400 for 2010, was announced yesterday by Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Interior, and will be in place for an indefinite period.
Col Hussein al Harthi, director of traffic and patrols, said the new decision to halve fines, which applies to all traffic departments in the emirate, had been made in “sympathy” for drivers.
He said the scheme aimed to encourage them to comply with traffic rules and regulations.
“This step was taken to let people think about the consequences of breaking the rules that are placed there for their own safety,” he said.
Police said they started discounting fines four days ago but had waited until the payment system was fully upgraded before announcing the change. Col al Harthi said more staff had been assigned to fine-payment desks to handle an expected surge in customers.
The police did not say how many motorists had outstanding fines.
The surprise announcement came on the first anniversary of the death of three Emirati youngsters who were killed on Airport Road, when they were hit by a speeding car.
A fourth person, Nurshaida Parjan, 24, died from her injuries in a hospital in her native Indonesia in April. The 20-year-old driver who killed them was jailed for six months and fined Dh5,000.
The tragedy inspired The National to launch a campaign, named the Road to Safety, designed to raise awareness of the scale of dangerous driving in the UAE.
The Government has introduced programmes and educational initiatives designed to make the roads safer, which appear to have achieved success, with Ministry of Interior figures showing 963 motorists died in traffic accidents in the UAE last year, compared with 1,072 in 2008.
Mohamed al Hashimi, 27, an aviation security inspector, said he hoped it would be accompanied by an awareness campaign on the dangers of breaking traffic laws.
While some reports suggested that there were a number of motorists who owed Dh30,000 in fines, Mr Hashimi, an Emirati, has only Dh400 in fines and said it annoyed him to see some drivers owing thousands of dirhams.
“It only shows that they are careless to the safety of themselves and others,” he said. “They don’t show remorse for their mistakes but prefer to try to find creative ways to avoid paying.”
Haitham al Blooshi, 27, a medical lab technician who owed about Dh4,670 in fines, said that “many people in Abu Dhabi can afford to pay the huge fines, but those with fixed incomes have had a huge burden lifted off them with this generous initiative”.
Higher fines were introduced in March 2008 across the country along with a black points system that can cost motorists their licence if they collect 24 points for reckless driving.
The largest fine, for either driving dangerously or reckless driving, is Dh2,000. A motorist charged with that offence also receives 12 black points and their is vehicle confiscated for 30 days.
The smallest fine, for offences such as not carrying a driving licence while driving or using a horn in a disturbing way, is Dh100.
The Education Council in Abu Dhabi introduced road safety classes in summer schools, while police have begun using unmarked cars to catch dangerous drivers.
TransAD, the taxi regulator, has also installed speed-limiting devices in cabs to help tackle the issue of speeding. The Department of Transport has conducted a safety audit of the emirate’s roads and the Urban Planning Council unveiled a new street design manual, which focusses on pedestrian safety.
Abu Dhabi Municipality is also studying how to make school zones safer. Several hospitals are handing out free child safety seats, which the Government plans to make mandatory by 2011, along with rear-seat safety belts.
100,000 workers moved to 'labour cities'
ABU DHABI - JUN 30: As more than 100,000 workers transfer from a camp near Mohammed bin Zayed City to new accommodation, construction companies complained yesterday that the move will cost them time and money.
Abu Dhabi Municipality has told contractors to shift their workers to specially built labour cities by September 17. But the companies say the new developments, although providing more amenities, can cost them an additional Dh600 per person per month.
Bassim Abu Zain, the general manager of the construction contractor Detco, said his company could not renew its trade licence unless it proved that its labourers were in a new camp near Al Mafraq, 45 minutes from the city.
“They gave us this limit of three months to solve our problems and go to this place in Al Mafraq,” he said. “They will not accept your work if you don’t bring any documents saying your labourers are living in this camp.”
Yesterday, the municipality said it had built infrastructure and roads for the new camps. “They’re better, everything is available there,” a spokesman said.
For some companies, however, accommodation fees will triple to about Dh900 a worker each month at new camps in Al Mafraq.
The operational manager of a company with 700 labourers said: “The charges are too expensive. It’s more than double the price if I want to keep him in a rented room in the Mussafah Industrial City.
“We have a huge camp that we built there, but it’s all caravans. In three months, we have to remove it all. Each caravan was Dh25,000. If you want to sell one, it’s Dh5,000 to Dh6,000.”
Although companies agreed that the new sites had better facilities, they preferred workers’ lodgings to be near worksites.
“It’s cheaper and you are not wasting time to get them on a bus from Mussafah to Al Mafraq, and back and forth,” Mr Abu Zain said.
“It will take around 30 to 40 minutes on the bus, and there’s too much traffic. If you’re a worker, you have to wake up at six in the morning to be at Mussafah.”
Another concern was that his 60 workers might struggle to find housing because of the small size of his company.
Detco employees were denied housing at the compound’s largest camp, Raha Village, which had the capacity for 35,000 people, he said.
“The rules there were that they don’t accept companies with less than 100 people,” he said. “Then where should they go?”
Jad Saad, Raha Village’s facility manager, said the demand for housing prompted the camp to change its 100-worker minimum policy. The facility was accepting workers from companies with as few as 20 people. About 6,000 people live in Raha Village, most of whom were relocated from New Mussafah. Another 16,000 workers from 100 companies were ready to move, Mr Saad said.
“There is nothing they need we don’t provide here,” he said. “All they need to do is bring their clothes.”
Although Raha Village has a hospital, mall, mosque, and recreational facilities, there is no transport to Abu Dhabi. “The Government is building a bus route, which will be right in front,” Mr Saad said.
In July 2009, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce said companies housing labourers in New Mussafah would need to move them within two months, as the area was being developed. Companies asked for an extension and complained about expensive rents.
Ten housing complexes have been built in areas such as Al Mafraq, near the Hamim bridge, and along the road to Al Ain. Most workers have been moved to their new housing during the past six months.
Gil Pagkaliwangan, the facility manager of Al Geemi camp in Al Mafraq, which opened two months ago, said it was one-third full. The site can accommodate up to 4,000 people.
“The municipality provided everything in the facility – the Etisalat tower, the bus station, big malls, restaurants, everything you want,” he said.
At the deserted camp at New Mussafah, Pakistani lorry drivers on a break said 400 people had recently relocated.
“We had a warning, a month ago, that we would be moving,” said Ali Maseed, 27. “The company took care of everything. We had no problems. We just went to our new place.”
Zonescorp, the Government-backed organisation that operates the camps, was not available for comment.