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Sat, Dec 06, 2025 | Jumada al-Thani 15, 1447 | Fajr 05:28 | DXB 
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New traffic rules: Dubai to now impound vehicles for up to 30 days for 14 driving offences
Using mobile phones while driving, tailgating and sudden deviation are among the offences
The Dubai Police will now impound vehicles for up to 30 days for multiple traffic offences. Using mobile phones while driving, tailgating and sudden deviation are among the offences that will lead to the vehicle being confiscated for 30 days.
The federal traffic law specifies fines of between Dh400 and Dh1,000 and four black points for these offences. With this new law amendment, the 30-day impoundment will be an additional penalty in Dubai.
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According to a copy of the Official Gazette that Khaleej Times has seen, phone driving has been defined as being distracted by devices while driving. Sudden deviation of the vehicle in a manner that poses a danger to lives and property, or traffic safety, and not leaving enough safe distance from the vehicle in front will also result in the 30-day impoundment.
The same additional penalty applies if a heavy vehicle fails to adhere to lane discipline.
The amendment further specified 14-day impoundment for these offences:
- Entering the road without making sure it is clear
- Reversing the vehicle in a manner that poses a danger to life or property or traffic safety
- Lane indiscipline
- Stopping in the middle of the road for no reason
- Dangerous overtaking
- Lack of necessary safety and security conditions in the vehicle
- Stopping the vehicle on the shoulder of the road in non-emergency situations, or overtaking vehicles from the shoulder
- Driving a vehicle without a licence plate
- Driving a vehicle in a manner that obstructs traffic
- Making changes to the vehicle colour without permission
This is not the first time that Dubai has introduced additional penalties for reckless driving. Last year, authorities specified a Dh50,000 fee for releasing seized vehicles for serious traffic offences. These included reckless driving and jumping a red light. Multiple motorists have been penalised since the rules went into effect.
Reckless driving caused 94 accidents in Dubai in the first six months of 2024.
According to a survey conducted this year, one in three motorists admitted to using the phone while driving.
“Nine out of ten drivers think distracted driving is dangerous, but only 81 per cent or eight out of ten motorists are always fully concentrated on the road, which means that one out of five motorists around us does not pay full attention,” the survey commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE and Al Wathba Insurance found.
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Sahim Salim
As Associate Editor, Sahim Salim helps tell the UAE story like no one else does — and leads a team of reporters that asks the questions to get news and headlines that matter.
Waad Barakat
Waad Barakat is a Special Correspondent covering security topics, from law enforcement to local courts. With a keen eye for human interest stories, she hopes to blend it all with unique Gen Z-inspired content.
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