Dubai: Stricter penalties have been incorporated into the new significant amendments made to the vehicle impounding system in Dubai in order to ensure traffic safety and safeguard the lives and properties of individuals in the emirate. The new traffic law will come into effect as of July 6.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree No. 30 of 2023 introducing amendments to certain articles of Decree No. 29 of 2015, specifically related to the impoundment of vehicles belonging to owners who commit serious violations on the road.
The purpose of the new amendments is intended to strengthen the enforcement of penalties for such violations, ensure traffic safety, reduce accidents and promote a safer environment on the roads.
The decree stipulates specific cases of administrative and obligatory impounding of vehicles.
Impounding vehicles
Vehicles participating in races on the road without prior permission and recreational motorcycles riding on paved roads will be impounded as per the new amendments. A non-Emirati driver of a heavy-duty truck will be deported if he jumps the red light. A Dh50,000 fine will be slapped on those jumping the red light.
Police will also be able to seize vehicles which have been modified to increase the speed limit or loud noise while driving.
Dubai Police will seize a vehicle if the traffic fines exceed Dh6,000, or if it is being driven with fake plate number or unclear plate number.
The police can also seize a vehicle which is driven recklessly or poses a danger to others or tries to escape from the police.
It also specified the fees for impounding vehicles, which amount to Dh100,000 for a vehicle which participates in a race on the road, without prior permission from the police, and Dh50,000 for a recreational motorcycle riding on a paved road.
Police can impound vehicles whose owners escape from the policemen, as well as vehicles driven on the road without number plates.
Vehicles, whose drivers gather to watch races or get involved in chaos and road races for showoff, will be impounded.
Vehicles with tinted glass beyond the permitted limit, or those tinting the vehicle's windshield without a permit, will also be seized.
A vehicle with a fake, obscured or tampered number plate will be impounded, and a driver who uses his vehicle to intentionally hit a police vehicle or intentionally cause damage to it will have to be impounded.
A vehicle driven by a person under the age of 18 years shall be impounded.
Impounding period varies
The cases of administrative and permissive impoundment of a vehicle and the maximum impounding period in each case are determined upon a decision issued by the Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, in coordination with the relevant authorities, provided that the decision shall be published in the Dubai Government’s official gazette.
Impounded vehicles can be released after paying all fines due on the vehicle according to the traffic file, rectification of the violation or removal of its causes and any other conditions determined by Dubai Police.
The impounded vehicle can be released only when its owner pays all the due fines imposed on him for all violations committed. The motorist whose vehicle was impounded for participating in road races will have to pay Dh100,000 to get his car released from the impounding lot.
A fine of Dh50,000 will be paid by a motorcyclist to get his motorcycle released if he was driving a recreational motorcycle on a paved road.
Also, reckless drivers and those who jump the red signal will have to pay Dh50,000 to get their vehicles released.
Those who drive a vehicle with fake, obscured or tampered plate numbers, or intentionally hit a police vehicle or cause damage to it, will have to pay Dh50,000 to get their vehicles released. An under-age motorist will also have to pay Dh50,000 to get his vehicle released.
Those who have their vehicles impounded for modifying them to increase the speed limit and cause loud noise on roads, or those who escaped from policemen will pay a fine of Dh10,000 to get their vehicles released from the impounding lot.
Motorists who drive their vehicles on the road without a number plate, or those who gather to watch races or get involved in chaos will pay Dh10,000 to get their vehicles released.
Motorists who exceeded the permitted level of tinting their vehicles or those who tinted the vehicle's windshield without a permit will pay Dh10,000 to get their vehicles released.
As per the provisions of Article 3 of the decree, the impounded vehicle cannot be released only when its owner paid the fines imposed on him and after the expiry of the impoundment period.
The impoundment period of a vehicle will be doubled in case the vehicle is impounded again within one year from the occurrence of the same offence for which the vehicle was previously impounded, provided that the impoundment period does not exceed 90 days and the release amount does not exceed Dh200,000
Police can also administratively impound a vehicle if the total traffic fines have exceeded Dh6,000. The impounded vehicle shall be released after the owner pays the imposed traffic fines.
If the vehicle owner does not claim the impounded vehicle upon the expiration of the impoundment period, they will be obliged to pay an amount of Dh50 for each day after the end of the impoundment period.
