UAE Government triples the fine for blocking emergency vehicles

ABU DHABI: UAE Government has taken a huge step against the motorists who denies giving way for emergency vehicles. The penalty for any such case has been incremented to AED 3,000 from AED 1,000. Also, the accused driver will get six black points and the vehicle will be seized for 30 days. It is not a big surprise for the motorists, as previously, Ministry of Interior (MOI) had already informed about the implementation of such rule.

As per the MOI, the new rule will come into effect from 1st July 2019. Vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances, civil defence, and police cars usually come under the emergency vehicle list and now the official parade vehicle is also included in the list. The motorists will be fined if they block the way of any such aforementioned vehicles. The Government brought this rule to improve road and traffic safety. This is also likely to reduce the number of death in car accidents too. 

Earlier on, Emergency services in UAE informed that motorists frequently blocked their way and often pay no heed. They have also added that some drivers even stop their cars in the middle of a road to watch or shoot videos of a car accident.

As per the figures from police, between 80 and 120 drivers were fined yearly in Dubai for not giving way to the emergency crews. The Head of the Federal Traffic Council, Major-General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein said, “Some reckless drivers don’t understand the importance of quick response to emergency situations. As many as 358 drivers were fined last year for not giving way to emergency vehicles. That means 358 emergency cases were delayed.”

Furthermore, the drivers will also be fined if they are found to follow the emergency vehicles to cut through traffic.