Buying a car is fairly easy in Dubai – but one has to be mindful of the strict laws and regulations, to avoid traffic fines. The Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA) takes the implementation of traffic rules and regulations very seriously. And you can’t get away with breaking traffic rules in Dubai.
In order to avoid these fines, you must remember all the rules that you shouldn’t break while driving in the Emirate. Let’s start with a quick overview of various traffic fines in Dubai and the black points that may accompany those fines.
The black points system in Dubai
The black point system allows authorities to keep a count of your traffic law violations in Dubai. Cameras and radars have been installed across Dubai to capture traffic violations. If you break certain specified rules while driving, Dubai Police adds black points to your traffic file depending on the nature of the offence. Each offence has a different number of points assigned to it based on its severity. You will receive a text message for every point added. You can check your current black points on the Dubai Police website.
If you cross 24 black points, the traffic police have full authority to revoke your driver’s license and ban you from driving for an entire year. In some cases, vehicles are also confiscated – it all depends on the severity of offences on your record.
Here is a complete guide on the validity of black points in Dubai.
List of traffic fines in Dubai
Let us go through the various traffic fines in Dubai.
Traffic fines for over speeding in Dubai
Traffic violations that result in fines and add black points to your file include:
- Exceeding by 80 km/h over the specified speed limit will result in a fine of AED 3000, adding 23 black points and possible confiscation of vehicle and license for 60 days.
- Driving your car at more than 60 km/h over the specified speed limit results in a fine of AED 3000, 12 black points and confiscation of the vehicle for 30 days.
- Exceeding the maximum speed limit less than 60 km/h over the speed limit results in a fine of AED 1500, 6 black points and vehicle impounding for 15 days.
Speed limit related traffic fines that don’t include black points include:
- Driving under the speed limit of less than 50 km/h over the specified speed limit. This results in a fine of AED 1000.
- Exceeding the max speed limit by less than 40 km/h over the specified speed limit equals a fine of AED 700.
- Exceeding the maximum speed limit by less than 30 km/h over the given speed restriction means a fine of AED 600.
- Driving under the speed limit of less than 20 km/h over the given speed restriction means a fine of AED 300.
If you are in another emirate, here is a complete guide on road speed limits in the UAE.
Traffic fines for rash and reckless driving in Dubai
Fines for reckless driving carrying 23 black points include:
- Seriously injuring the other party because of reckless driving
- Putting someone’s life in danger
- Driving a vehicle without a number plate
- Drunk driving
If the driver endangers someone’s life on the road, they will be fined for an amount decided by the court and their vehicle will be impounded for 2 months. Similarly, driving without a car number plate also adds 23 black points, a fine of AED 3000 and vehicle confiscation for 90 days.
However, if you are caught drunk driving, you will face a huge penalty of AED 20,000 plus confiscation of the vehicle for 60 days. Jail time of a few days to a few months, as decided by the court, is also possible in such scenarios.
Violations that may result in fines and less than 23 black points include the following:
- Not stopping at the red light: This violation results in 12 black points, a fine of AED 1000 and car confiscation for 30 days.
- Vehicle blocking traffic: If your vehicle blocks the traffic, you will be fined AED 1000 and 6 black points.
- Driving without keeping a safe distance from other vehicles: If you don’t keep a distance between other cars and your car, you will be liable to pay AED 400 and 4 black points.
Traffic fines for overtaking and wrong parking
Following is a list of overtaking and wrong parking penalties in Dubai:
- Parking in front of a fire hydrant: a fine of AED 1,000 and 6 black points
- Parking in spaces allocated for people of determination: a fine of AED 1000 and 6 black points
- Making a sudden stop in the middle of the road without any valid reason: a fine of AED 1000 and 6 black points
- Stopping your vehicle in the yellow box junction: a fine of AED 500
- Stopping your vehicle in a prohibited area on the left shoulder on public roads: a fine of AED 1000
- Stopping vehicle on pedestrian crossings: a fine worth AED 500
- Parking behind vehicles, blocking movement: a fine worth AED 500
- Stopping your car without keeping a safe distance as specified by law on curves, junctions or turns: a fine of AED 500
- Improper parking: a fine of AED 500
- Parking vehicles on pavements: a fine of AED 400
- Stopping your vehicle in such a way that it becomes dangerous for pedestrians: a fine of AED 400
- Stopping vehicle in a way that pedestrian movement gets blocked: a fine of AED 400
- Wrong overtaking when driving a light vehicle: a fine of AED 600 and 6 black points
- Overtaking from road shoulder: a fine of AED 1000 and 6 black points
- Overtaking from a prohibited place: a fine of AED 600
Other traffic violations that result in traffic fines in Dubai
The set of rules and regulations pertaining to traffic fines are not just there to safeguard the roads and vehicles of the city. In fact, the basic objective of these stringent rules is to keep the city safe for everyone. Therefore, drivers should keep a responsible attitude and behaviour towards traffic fines in Dubai at all times.
Here is a list of other violations that result in penalties:
- Driving without the seat belt: a traffic fine worth AED 400 and 4 black points
- Throwing garbage out of the car: a fine of AED 1,000 and 6 black points
- Driving a car that is polluting the environment: a fine of AED 1000 and 6 black points
- Driving a noisy vehicle: a fine of AED 2000 and 12 black points
- Making a child sit in the front seat: a fine of fine AED 1000 (as per rule, children under 10 years of age are supposed to sit in the back seat and a toddler under 4 years of age must be seated in a child seat)
- Using a phone while driving: a fine of AED 800 and 4 black points
- Jaywalking: a traffic fine of AED 400
- Driving with old/expired tyres: a traffic fine of AED 500, 4 black points and vehicle impounding for 7 days
- Driving without proper car registration or insurance: a traffic fine of AED 500, 5 black points and vehicle confiscation for 7 days
- Driving without the lights on during foggy weather or night hours: a traffic fine amount of AED 500 and 4 black points
- Rashly reversing your vehicle: a traffic fine amount of AED 500 and 4 black points
- Riding a motorcycle without a helmet: a fine amount of AED 500 and 4 black points (Both the driver and passenger are going to be fined if they don’t wear a helmet)
- Parking vehicle on pedestrian crossings: a traffic fine of AED 500
New Traffic Fines in Dubai
In addition to the existing ones, the authorities introduced some new traffic fines on 6th July 2023. The details of the new fines are as follows:
Traffic Violation Leading to AED 10,000 Fines
- Vehicle modification without required approvals or modifcations leading to increased sound and speed.
- Driving vehicles with number plates.
- Evading or escaping the police.
- Participation in illegal or chaotic activities such as racing or showcasing a vehicle publicly on road.
- Window or windshield tinting above approved level or without permission.
Traffic Violation Leading to AED 50,000 Fines
- Driving recreational purpose bike on paved roads.
- Reckless driving endangering others on the road.
- Escaping a traffic signal or jumping a red light.
- Driving with an illegal or fake Dubai driving licence.
- Hitting a police vehicle intentionally, this may lead to vehicle impoundment.
- Underage driving (less than 18 years old).
Traffic Violation Leading to AED 100,000 Fines
Getting a vehicle impounded due to illegal racing can cost a fine of up to AED 100,000. This also involves racing without authority’s permission and any activity endangering other vehicles, people and road objects.
Traffic fine discounts in Dubai
RTA announces traffic discounts for motorists on different occasions.
In 2020, on the occasion of UAE’s 49th national day on 2nd December, the RTA announced a 50% discount on all the traffic fines that were committed before December 2020, moreover, all vehicle impoundments and black points were waived until January 2021.
Earlier in 2019, The RTA announced an up to 100 % discount on their total fines as a part of the Year Of Tolerance initiative. According to the initiative, motorists had the opportunity to get discounts on their previous traffic fines, provided they remain traffic violation-free for a specific period of time.
If motorists stayed traffic fine clean for 3 months, they would get a discount of 25% on traffic fines in Dubai. If drivers were not a part of any kind of traffic offence for 6 months, they got a discount of 50%. If motorists abided by the rules for 9 months, they received a 75% discount. To top it off, if a motorist isn’t fined for an entire year, they receive a 100% discount on traffic fines in Dubai.
This scheme aimed to encourage drivers to abide traffic laws through positive reinforcement. Thankfully, soon after the traffic fine settlement provision, commonly known as traffic fine discounts came into action, there was an almost 14% drop in road accidents.
However, these discounts help those who have violated speed limits, but they do not apply to parking fines and Salik fines.
Moreover, here is a guide on checking traffic fines in Dubai.
Traffic fine notification
You will get a message from the Dubai police soon after a violation is recorded. Nevertheless, you can also go to the RTA website to find out if a fine has been registered against your vehicle by filling in a simple form.
How to pay traffic fines in Dubai?
You can pay traffic fines in interest-free instalments. You can also pay via banks, such as Noor Bank, which offers a 0% instalment plan facility to its credit cardholders. Moreover, you can pay monthly instalments in 3 months, 6 months, 9 months or 12 months, provided the fine value is at least AED 500.
Vehicle owners can also use the Dubai Police app or Dubai Police websites to pay their fines or visit the centres dedicated to collecting traffic fines.
FAQs
How can I view my traffic fine violations?
Log in to RTA’s official website and click on ‘Inquiry and Payment of Traffic Fines service’ and view all the fines registered against your vehicle.
Do I have to pay a fee to view my traffic fines?
Online inquiries for traffic fine details are free of cost, but you have to pay AED 5 to get a hard copy of those fines.
What happens if a car is parked on a pavement?
The traffic fine for parking on pavements is AED 400.
What happens if someone wrongfully parks in spaces allocated to people of determination?
A vehicle wrongfully parked in the parking space reserved for people of determination results in a traffic fine of AED 1000.
How can I dispute a traffic fine in Dubai?
If you believe that you were mistakenly penalised for a traffic fine, follow the procedure defined in this comprehensive guide on how to dispute a traffic fine in UAE. You may lodge your traffic fine complaint in Dubai using Dubai Police Portal.
What are the various ways to pay traffic fines in Dubai?
Payment of traffic fines is extremely simple and can be done in many ways. You can log on to the RTA Dubai Traffic Fine Payment Portal or the Dubai Police Portal to pay traffic fines. You can also download the Dubai Police app or RTA mobile app on your smartphone to pay traffic fines.
Moreover, you can visit the vehicles and drivers license service centres to pay due fines.
For more assistance about traffic fines, call 901.
Drive safe and always abide by the rules like a responsible citizen. It is important to keep in mind that some cars that are ageing make excessive noise, their headlights go bad and the engine starts knocking. All these problems can be the reason for certain traffic violations. To avoid this problem, it is only sensible to purchase another car.
You can find a variety of used cars in Dubai on dubizzle, popular cars on the portal include:
- Second-hand Toyota for cars in Dubai
- Buy used Nissan cars in Dubai
- Buy used Mercedes-Benz cars in Dubai
- Second-hand BMW cars for sale in Dubai
Stay tuned to UAE’s top auto blog for more on traffic fines, rules and regulation and road safety.
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