342 minor drivers held for riding their parents’ vehicles in Capital
abu dhabi — Over 342 minors were arrested in Abu Dhabi in the first six months of 2018 for driving their parents’ vehicles without a licence, the police revealed on Saturday. The police said the minors caused 17 traffic accidents during this period.
Brigadier Khalifa Al Khaili, director of the central operations directorate, blamed lack of parental control over children’s activities for the illegal practice. In most of the cases, the teenagers were found driving without any kind of safety gear.
In the cases of 256 of the arrested teenagers, the police summoned their parents, who undertook a pledge that they would not let their children drive. The police warned them that if caught a second time, strict legal action would be taken against them. In the rest of the cases, the 86 teenagers were caught riding without a licence for a second time and were referred to the family court.
Brig Al Khaili called on families to monitor their children’s activities to prevent dangerous violations like driving without licences or racing.
1.45M calls in 6 months
Separately, the central operations room at the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ received 1.45million emergency calls during the first half of this year, reports. Colonel Nasser Sulaiman Al Maskari, director of operations, said that the Abu Dhabi Police’s Command and Control Centre is equipped with highly trained professionals and advanced communication systems to receive calls, in case of emergencies, and respond in real time.
“The Abu Dhabi Police is keen to reduce the response time by using the latest technologies and equipment in the central operations room,” he said.