Drivers with white points win prizes
dubai — Two people have won cars under the Dubai Police’s white point system, which rewards motorists who have not committed traffic violations for a whole year.
Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, head of the Federal Traffic Council and assistant commander-in-chief of the Dubai Police, and Khalaf Al Habtoor of the Habtoor Group announced the two grand prize winners: Gregory David Christopher, an American resident in the UAE, and Shamsa Matar Fairuz Saqr, a UAE national.
Christopher and Shamsa won the grand prizes and a few others — Rola Mohammed Jassem, Omar Ahmed Moussalli, Al Fahmawi, Ateeq Ahmad Al Humairi, Alia Khalid Al Kutbi, Mariam Issa Omar Bin Haider and Norieh Mandawi — also won under the ‘Youth Amanah 2018’ initiative for drivers aged 18 to 21 who hold a temporary driver’s licence. The prizes were sponsored by the Habtoor Group. Maj-Gen Al Zafeen revealed during the event that 2,600 motorists were honoured for having zero violations for an entire year and collecting 24 white points each, for the year 2017. They will be presented with gifts and appreciation certificates. “More than 12,000 people have not committed traffic violations last year; this is a good indicator,” he said.
The white points system was first introduced at the regional level. Maj-Gen Al Zafeen noted that since its establishment, the white points system recorded 65,298 drivers since its establishment in 2013; 50,576 of these are men and 14,722 women. The system also honoured 1,500 drivers in 2014, subsequently increasing every year to 1,800 drivers honoured in 2015; 2,000 in 2016 and 2,600 in 2017.
The Dubai Police Traffic Department is marking the white point system for the sixth consecutive year, and meets every year around this time to reward the emirate’s careful
The white points system initiative aims to ensure safety for all road users and honours drivers committed to making our roads safer.” Maj-Gen Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, head, Federal Traffic Council
and safe drivers. “The white points system initiative aims to ensure safety for all road users and honours drivers who are committed to making our roads safer. They have reduced the traffic mortality index to 2.5 per for 100,000 residents by the end of 2017,” Al Zafeen said.
“We ask the winning drivers to maintain this high level of abidance to the rules.” The awarding ceremony, organised by the Dubai Police Traffic Department, also honoured the strategic partners of the Dubai Police and the sponsors.
Al Habtoor stressed that the white points system is an effective incentive for drivers to abide by the road rules, benefitting all residents in turn.
Maj-Gen Al Zafeen praised the sponsors’ support for the positive impact of the white points system.
amira@khaleejtimes.com