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Police to pick five ideal drivers

DUBAI — The Dubai Police will be picking five ideal motorists every day for one week during the traffic campaign 'Your Driving is the Evidence of Your Morals' to be launched from Saturday.

Stating this, Lieutenant-Colonel Abdullah Al Ghaity, Director of the General Traffic Directorate of Dubai Police, said that the traffic campaign, sponsored by the ANT companies, was aimed at spreading awareness on good driving and road ethics and was an attempt at averting fatal accidents.

Lt.-Col. Ghaity called on motorists in general, and the youth in particular, to avoid making traffic violations that resulted in dangerous and fatal accidents.

He said that the traffic police vehicle carrying the campaign logo would patrol the streets of Dubai every day to pick the ideal driver.

And the 'ideal driver' would be: "He or she is the motorist who respects other road users, specially pedestrians and their right to safe crossing, restricts driving to the compulsory lane, avoids sudden turns, doesn't engage in reckless driving, avoids dangerous overtaking, keeps a safe distance between vehicles, makes the right use of traffic lights, avoids causing traffic jams and shuns wrong parking behind cars, also honking in that very annoying manner."

All the 'ideal drivers' would be selected during this campaign. Those who were rated ideal motorists in previous such campaigns throughout the year would be invited to take part in the Road Master Competition for the year 2005.

Lt.-Col. Ghaity said that four traffic checking points would be set up during the campaign, two at the entrance to the emirate of Dubai emirate, for motorists coming from Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and two outside Dubai, for motorists heading to other emirates. Motorists would be stopped and advised on safe driving as well as asked to fill in a questionnaire.

The traffic points will be situated near the Al Mulla Plaza in the direction of Sharjah, in Qusais in the industrial areas for traffic heading to Dubai, in addition to two other points on Shaikh Zayed Road, one near the Emirates Holidays in the Abu Dhabi direction, and the other on the other side of the road for incoming traffic.

Some of the questions to be addressed to motorists are whether they had been issued traffic fines earlier; do they drive recklessly, are they driving without licence, were they hauled up for reckless driving, etc. They would also be asked to give their suggestions to make the roads more safe.

• UAE