Got a big backlog of fines to pay? We have good news…

As part of the Year of Giving, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, has announced that as of July 1, all traffic fines committed in 2016 or before will be cut in half.

That’s right, if you have fines backed up from 2016, 2015 and so on, they will be halved next month. Remember, this is just valid for Dubai traffic fines (not those incurred in other emirates).

*READ: What are the laws when it comes to charity in the UAE?*

The ruling doesn’t apply to fines racked up in the first half of 2017 (we imagine this move is so that the ruling helps those who have really been struggling to pay their fines).

You can pay your fines online, through UAE banks, apps like MPay or at RTA centres.

The ‘discount’ will be in effect from July 1 until the end of 2017, so you have a while to pay any fines off while still getting the good deal.

ALSO…

Earlier this month, Dubai Police’s traffic department pardoned drivers who committed minor offences over the month of Ramadan.

Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, commander in chief of Dubai Police, said in the spirit of the Holy Month and the Year of Giving, motorists had been asked to sign “obligation letters” in place of a fine.

*ALSO: Want to know how and where to do good in the UAE? Find out here*

“Instead of issuing traffic fine to a motorist who committed a minor offence, we hand over notes and flyers to them and ask them to sign an obligation letter that they won’t repeat the offence again,” he told Gulf News.

We can’t wait to hear what the rest of the Year of Giving has in store. Remember, 2016 was the Year of Reading, 2017 is the Year of Giving – we wonder what 2018 will be?

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