Better Watch Who's Driving

My husband got eight electronic speeding tickets in one month before he realized what was happening. It starts with a sudden flash while you are driving. He either didn't notice it or couldn't tell where it came from. Then he got a notice by email, stating that he was speeding at such and such location and the amount of the fine. Each time it happened, he thought it couldn't be right. So I went online to check, and sure enough, there was a little picture of our license plate for each one.

The flash is from a camera at roadside taking a picture of your license plate while radar clocks you over the speed limit. The cameras are placed at strategic points along the major roads, and the tricky spots are where the speed limit suddenly decreases without much warning. Now that Neal has been flashed at various spots, he knows where to slow down. There is some margin, believed to be 10 km/hour.

The good news for Neal is that there are no ramifications to getting all these tickets--no points, no problems with insurance, no interest or late fees. He can clear them all by paying them when he goes to renew his license.

Given this system, it's no surprise that there are chronic abusers and plenty of unpaid fines. As of last month, unpaid fines added up to 369 million dirhams (over $100 million, with 3.67 dirhams per US$). One UAE woman accumulated 152,000 dirhams worth, while another woman collected 146,000. A teenager racked up 70,000 before getting stopped. One man seemed to be trying to set a record, scoring 42,000 dirhams in fines in 5 minutes of speeding at 180 km/hour past 12 checkpoints. Even an 88-year old Saudi with no car got hit with some hefty fines.

So what's a country to do? More good news for Neal: the UAE decided to celebrate National Day by granting a 40% discount if the fines are paid prior to January 10. Of course, many people believe that providing such a discount sends the wrong message to speeders. At the same time, authorities vow to crack down on the worst cases, such as the 3,600 drivers who exceeded 200 km/hour. If they can find these people, they will confiscate the car. Some people think they should try jailing the drivers, but how do they know for sure who was driving? In any event, if it's your car, you'll be paying.