Abu Dhabi residents will have to pay higher fines for not wearing seat belts and jumping red lights starting July 1.

Motorists who ignore traffic lights will be fined Dh1,000 and incur a penalty of 12 points, and their vehicles seized for a month, according to newly amended traffic laws.

Dh1,000 and six traffic points will be fined for shoulder passers.

The amendments include Dh400 fine and four traffic points for drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts.

The General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police has said the new regulations amending the Federal Traffic Law No. 21 of 1995 will be effective from Saturday.

The amendments also permit no more than 50 per cent glass tinting for vehicles. However, the windscreen must remain tint-free.

Moreover, business drivers, such as Uber, picking up passengers without permits will be fined Dh3,000 and will receive 24 traffic points.

The amendment also looks at protecting children, as fines will be given to motorists who seat children under 10 (no less than 145 cm in height) in the passenger seat.

Children under the age of four must also be seated in the back and strapped in a child safety seat, or drivers could face a Dh400 fine.

Brigadier General Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, Director of Central Operations Sector at Abu Dhabi Police General Command, called on the drivers to adhere to the new rules and regulations.

"The amendments in the executive regulations and the rules of traffic control procedures are in the interest of road users."

He stressed that the implementation of these measures will motivate drivers to abide by the laws and enhance the efforts by the Abu Dhabi Police to make roads safer.

Brigadier Al Dhaheri said the Abu Dhabi Police will also provide an opportunity for drivers to correct their driving violations, prior to the implementation of the new amendments, via an initiative that cancels already registered traffic violations.

However, this initiative will not cancel violations related reckless driving, running red lights, exceeding speed limits, causing danger to the lives of the public, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Source: .khaleej Times