Dubai: Tips to get your car out of a sand dune

Step by step guide

1. Turn your car off.
2. Get out of the car and check your tyres. Deflate them by more than half.
3. Press on the accelerator slowly.
4. Keep the RPM under two.
5. The car will slowly start moving.

The rules apply to both sedans and SUVs.



If stucked in the desert then call emergency numbers:

• Dubai Police: 04 229 2222
• Abu Dhabi Police: 999

Most of the UAE's soil is desert sand, so getting stuck is common in sand dunes of the Emirates.
In this situation, avoid panicking and accelerating, which makes your car sink more.

• Then next step involves deflating your tyres by more than 50 per cent to get more traction and the tyre becomes wider.
• Then, you should not increase your RPM over two and slowly push on the accelerator. The car will then start moving slowly.
• For SUVs, an important step is to shift the car to "4-low" instead of "4-high". 
• Another technique is to keep switching the vehicle from first gear into reverse.
• To avoid getting stuck in the first place, drivers should steer clear from any sand patches on the left or right hand side of the road. The best thing to do is step out of your vehicle, walk on the patch and check if it's hard enough to drive over.

Dubai driving traffic violations, fines and black points

A black point system for traffic offences is implemented across all the emirates since March 1' 2008, due to rising fierce driving accidents across Dubai. Some of these have serious consequences such as jail term and even confiscation of the driver’s vehicle. If you’re going to be driving in Dubai then it’s important to be aware of at least the most common offences and associated fines.

If you car have been caught by one of the numerous Dubai speed cameras, you can check online for a list of outstanding violations on your or even others' vehicle simply by entering the car plate number.

Around 235 surveillance cameras are now fitted near to key junctions and roads in Dubai which are linked to the Traffic Control Centre at Bani Yas to monitor and streamline traffic movement in the emirate, according to Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

The new state of the art modern technologies at the centre enable the control of various Intelligent Traffic Systems such as the Virtual Messaging Signs which consist of around 32 electronic signs covering Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khaleej Road, Emirates Road, Sheikh Rashid Road, Abu Baker Al Siddique Road, Al Ittihad Road, Al Mina Road, and Bani Yas Road in addition to Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Shindagh Tunnel and Airport Tunnel.

The system calculates the volume of traffic congestion on main and express roads, detects abnormality in traffic patterns such as accidents and breakdown of vehicles on roads, and indicates congestion generated by high traffic volumes.

Violations, fines and black points
No.	Violation	Fine	Black points	In presence/ In absentia	Days*
1	Driving dangerously (racing)	2000	12	Both	30
2	Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or similar substances	Decided by court	24	Both	60
3	Driving a vehicle without number plates	1000	24	In presence	60
4	Causing death of others	Decided by court	12	In presence	30
5	Not stopping after causing an accident that resulted in injuries	Decided by court	24	Both	60
6	Reckless driving	2000	12	Both	30
7	Exceeding maximum speed limit by more than 60km/h	1000	12	Both	30
8	Driving in a way that is dangerous to the public	1000	12	Both	30
9	Jumping a red light	800	8	Both	15
10	Running away from a traffic policeman	800	12	Both	30
11	Dangerous overtaking by trucks	800	24	Both	60
12	Causing a car to overturn	Decided by court	8	Both
13	Causing serious injuries	Decided by court	8	In presence
14	Exceeding maximum speed limit by not more than 60km/h	900	6	Both
15	Exceeding maximum speed limit by not more than 50km/h	800		Both
16	Overtaking on the hard shoulder	600	6	In presence
17	Entering road dangerously	600	6	Both
18	Causing moderate injury	Decided by court	6	Both
19	Heavy vehicle lane discipline	600	6	Both
20	Overtaking from a prohibited place	600	6	In presence
21	Causing serious damage to a vehicle	Decided by court	6	In presence
22	Exceeding maximum speed limit by not more than 40km/h	700		Both
23	Parking in fire hydrant places, spaces allocated for people with special needs and ambulance parking	1000	4	Both
24	Exceeding maximum speed limit by not more than 30km/h	600		Both
25	Driving against traffic	400	4	In presence
26	Allowing children under 10 years old to sit in the front seat of a vehicle	400	4	In presence
27	Failure to fasten seat belt while driving	400	4	In presence
28	Failure to leave a safe distance	400	4	In presence
29	Failure to follow the directions of a traffic policeman	400	4	Both
30	Exceeding maximum speed limit by not more than 20km/h	500		Both
31	Entering a road without ensuring that it is clear	400	4	In presence
32	Exceeding permitted level of car window tinting	500		In presence	30
33	Not giving way to emergency, police and public service vehicles or official convoys	500	4	Both
34	Driving a heavy vehicle that does not comply with safety and security conditions	500		In presence	30
35	Failure to stop after causing an accident	500	6	Both	7
36	Driving a noisy vehicle	500		Both	30
37	Allowing others to drive a vehicle for which they are unlicensed	500		In presence
38	Loading a heavy vehicle in a way that may pose danger to others or to the road	500	6	Both	7
39	Overload or protruding load from a heavy vehicle without permission	500	6	Both	7
40	Driving a vehicle that causes pollution	500		Both
41	Stopping on the road for no reason	500	4	In presence
42	Stopping on a yellow box	500		Both
43	Not giving pedestrians way on pedestrian crossings	500	6	Both
44	Failure to abide by traffic signs and directions	500		Both
45	Throwing waste from vehicles onto roads	500	4	Both
46	Refusing to give traffic police name and address when required	500	In presence
47	Stopping vehicle on the left side of the road in prohibited places	500	Both
48	Stopping vehicle on pedestrian crossing	500	Both
49	Teaching driving in a training vehicle that does not bear a learning sign	500	Both
50	Teaching driving in a non- training vehicle without permission from licensing authority	500	In presence
51	Placing marks on the road that may damage the road or block traffic	500	Both
52	Operating industrial, construction and mechanical vehicles and tractors without permission from licensing authority	500	In presence	7
53	Modifying vehicle’s engine without permission	400	In presence
54	Modifying vehicle’s chasses without permission	400	In presence
55	Changing vehicle’s colour without permission	400	In presence
56	Exceeding maximum speed limit by not more than 10km/h	400	Both
57	Driving with a driving license issued by a foreign country except in permitted cases	400	In presence
58	Violating the terms of the driving license	300	In presence
59	Parking behind vehicles and blocking their movement	300	Both
60	Towing a vehicle or a boat with an unprepared vehicle	300	In presence
61	Driving a vehicle that omits gases or fumes with substances exceeding permitted rates	300	Both
62	Leaving a vehicle on the road with its engine running	300	Both
63	No lights on the back or sides of trailer container	200	Both
64	Lights on the back or sides of container not working	200	Both
65	Taxis, which have designated pickup areas, stopping in undesignated places	200	4	Both
66	Prohibited entry	200	4	Both
67	Blocking traffic	200		Both
68	Vehicle unfit for driving	200		Both	7
69	Driving a light vehicle that does not comply with safety and security conditions	200		Both	7
70	Not lifting exhaust of trucks	200		Both	7
71	Not covering loads of trucks	3000		Both	7
72	Using vehicle for purposes other than designated	200	4	In presence	7
73	Heavy vehicle prohibited entry	200	4	Both	7
74	Violating loading or unloading regulations in parking	200	4	In presence	7
75	Carrying and transporting passengers illegally	200	4	In presence	7
76	Writing phrases or placing stickers on vehicle without permission	200		Both
77	Not taking road safety measures during vehicle breakdowns	200		Both
78	Turning at undesignated points	200	4	Both
79	Turning the wrong way	200	4	Both
80	Loading a light vehicle in a way that may pose a danger to others or to the road	200	3	Both	7
81	Overload or protruding load on light vehicles without permission	200	3	In presence	7
82	Stopping vehicle without keeping the distance specified by the law from a curve or junction	200		Both
83	Transporting passengers by vehicle undesignated for this purpose	200	4	In presence
84	Sudden swerve	200	4	In presence
85	Driving a taxi without required license	200	4	In presence
86	Carrying passengers in driving-training vehicle	200	4	In presence
87	Driving a taxi with an expired warranty	200		In presence
88	Reversing dangerously	200		Both
89	Taxi refusing to carry passengers	200	4	Both
90	Falling or leaking load	3000	12	Both	30
91	Not securing vehicle while parked	200		Both
92	Parking in prohibited places	200	2	In presence
93	Parking in loading and offloading areas without need	200		In presence
94	Parking on road shoulder except in cases of emergency	200		In presence
95	Using multi-coloured lights	200		Both
96	Not wearing helmet while driving motorbike	200	4	Both
97	Exceeding passenger limit	200	3	In presence
98	Driving with tires in poor condition	200		In presence	7
99	Driving with an expired driving license	200	3	In presence
100	Not renewing vehicle registration after expiry	400		In presence
101	Driving unlicensed vehicle	200		In presence	7
102	Violation of laws of using commercial number plates	200		In presence
103	Not fixing number plates in designated places	200	2	In presence
104	Driving with one number plate	200	2	In presence
105	Driving at night or in foggy weather without lights	200	4	In presence
106	Using unmatching number plates for trailer and container	200		Both
107	Not fixing reflective stickers at the back of trucks and heavy vehicles	200		Both
108	Not using indicators when changing direction or turning	200	3	In presence
109	Not giving way for vehicles to pass on the left	200		Both
110	Not giving way to vehicles coming from the left where required	200		Both
111	Stopping a vehicle in a way that may pose danger or block traffic	200	3	Both
112	Failure to have vehicle examined after carrying out major modification to engine or body	200		In presence	7
113	Using training vehicles outside of timings specified by licensing authority	200		In presence
114	Using training vehicles in places not designated by licensing authority	200		Both
115	Overtaking from the right	200	4	Both
116	Overtaking in a wrong way	200	3	In presence
117	Driving an unlicensed vehicle	200		In presence	7
118	Abuse of parking space	200	3	Both
119	Number plates with unclear numbers	200	3	Both
120	Violating tariff	200	6	Both
121	Light vehicle lane discipline	200	2	Both
122	Parking vehicles on pavement	200	3	Both
123	Not showing vehicle registration card when required	200		In presence
124	Not showing driving license when required	200		In presence
125	Not fixing taxi sign where required	200		Both
126	Not fixing a sign indicating licensed overload	200	3	In presence
127	Using interior lights for no reason while driving	100		In presence
128	Failure to abide by specified colour for taxis or training cars	200		In presence
129	Failure to display tariff of buses or taxis or not showing them when required	200		In presence
130	Broken lights	200	6	In presence
131	Using horn in prohibited areas	200	2	In presence
132	Driving below minimum speed limit	200		Both
133	Failure to keep taxis and buses clean inside and outside	200		In presence
134	Smoking inside taxis and buses	200		Both
135	Using hand-held mobile phone while driving	200	4	In presence
136	Not abiding by taxi drivers obligatory uniform or not keeping it in good condition	100		In presence
137	Calling on passengers in the presence of signs	100		Both
138	Not displaying truck’s load on both sides	100		Both
139	Not carrying driving license while driving	100		In presence
140	Not carrying vehicle registration card while driving	100		In presence
141	Driving without spectacles or contact lenses	100		In presence
142	Not using interior light in buses at night	100		In presence
143	Broken indicator lights	100	2	In presence
144	Using horn in a disturbing way	100	2	In presence
145	Having no red light at the back of vehicle	100		Both
146	Opening left door of taxi	100	3	In presence
147	Pedestrians crossing from undesignated places (If any existed)	200		In presence
0
* Vehicle confiscated/Days

The above table of Dubai traffic fines and violations can be checked and updated from Dubai Police website. Please consult that website for more details.

Online Dubai Police Fine Checker One can check any traffic fines you may have got in the UAE on the Dubai Police website at:

www.dubaipolice.gov.ae/dp/english/e_services

So register with the Dubai Police website  for free notification SMSs and/or e-mails. For this, you need to provide your vehicle information (plate number, category and code) as well your driver information (traffic file number, name, mobile number and e-mail). Before re-registration of your car(s), you have to clear your traffic fines in full.

Top tips to avoid Dubai Police Fines:

1. Avoid speeding - some speed cameras are set at 1km above the speed limit. 
2. Park in the right place- if you park in a metered zone- pay at the meter- you can even do this by SMS now.
3. Use your hands free kit. If you use your handset and are holding it you can get fined.
4. Always use your seat belt.
5. Never, ever jump a red light.
6. Never drink and drive.