ABU DHABI – Most cases of traffic violations involving Saudis in Abu Dhabi have been settled thanks to the intervention of the local Saudi Embassy. Muhammad Al-Mulla, lawyer at the embassy, said the cases against Saudis who travelled by road have been settled, paving the way for the violators to return home, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported Thursday. Several Saudis who reached Abu Dhabi by road were booked for various traffic offenses. “Our efforts were instrumental in reducing the amount of fines charged by the Abu Dhabi traffic authorities from 20,000 dirhams to between 5,000 and 10,000 dirhams. “Most of the traffic cases were referred to local courts and the court proceedings were expedited and verdicts issued.” He said offenders were given a chance to appeal the verdict. Al-Mulla said the embassy is helping those Saudis who have financial difficulties in clearing fines, even though settling traffic fines does not fall within the embassy's jurisdiction. “The embassy deals with those traffic issues related to theft of vehicles, accident deaths, accident-related humanitarian issues and so forth.” Meanwhile, an official source at the embassy said there were several Saudi tourists involved in traffic violations such as speeding and tampering with number plates to evade speed radars. More than 150 Saudi nationals were arrested in the UAE for reportedly obscured their car license plates to avoid radar detection, Al-Riyadh reported on Tuesday. The Saudis took advantage of the mid-term school break in the Kingdom to drive into the emirate. The UAE traffic authorities apprehended the offending drivers and impounded their cars. Abu Dhabi public prosecution had instructed that the offenders not be released on bail and insisted on their trial in a bid to help put an end to the growing phenomenon obscuring number plates that could be used to perpetrate crimes more ominous than breaking road laws, the daily said. “We are saddened by the attitude of the Saudi nationals who ignored all our calls to avoid this type of traffic violations,” Ibrahim Bin Saad Al-Ibrahim, the Saudi ambassador to the UAE, told Al Riyadh. “We have issued several warnings and instructed the competent authorities to boost awareness campaigns at the border posts and alert drivers about the significance of complying with the strict traffic laws, but to no avail. “Many Saudis who come to the UAE to enjoy their vacation or to unite with their families tend to ignore the law and end up in difficult situations that cause us embarrassment with our emirati brothers,” Al-Ibrahim said. Col. Hamad Al-Beloushi, the director of external roads and traffic at the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate, said up to three Saudi drivers are caught daily with concealed or obscured license plates. Under UAE traffic laws, tampering with a car plate results in prison for up to two years and/or a fine of 20,000 dirhams. Saudi and Qatari media on Monday reported that Qatar authorities have impounded 20 Saudi-registered cars at a border checkpoint after their drivers failed to pay traffic fines that in some cases reached 190,000 Qatari riyals. Most of the fines were recorded by radars for speeding on the highway between the Abu Samra border post and Doha, which is only 100 kilometers away from the Saudi border.
