New traffic rules to impact Dubai visitors

Muscat: Drivers from Oman heading to Dubai should be aware of the new traffic rules, which will be implemented this summer, said a senior official of the Dubai Police.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, Lt Col. Dr. Mubarak Saeed Salem bin Nawwas, director of the Tourist Police Department, said all passengers in a vehicle will now need to wear seat belts.
“Currently, the law states that the driver and the person sitting next to the driver should wear a seat belt. But with the change of traffic rules, everybody in the vehicle should now wear seat belts. We are doing this to protect the people,” he explained.
And if passengers do not fasten their seat belts, they will be fined Dh400 (OMR42) and will have four black points on their licences, “but the black points will not be applicable for Omani tourists visiting UAE,” he said. The director, along with a team of Dubai Police, was in Muscat to take part in the Visit UAE Road Show at Grand Hyatt on Monday night.
He also said children under 10 years wouldn’t be allowed to sit on the front seats of vehicles any more. “Drivers will be fined if the police spot children sitting in the front,” he said, adding that tourists could ring up the call centre number (901) of the Dubai Police in case they require any help.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) received 24.8 million visitors in 2016, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accounted for 17 per cent of this number.
“1.96 million Saudi visitors were recorded during 2016, forming 8 per cent of all tourists, while Omanis formed 5.4 per cent of the tourists. While 2 per cent of visitors were from Kuwait, Qataris formed 1 per cent, and Bahrainis formed 0.7 per cent of the total visitors,” a statement emailed to the Times of Oman from the UAE Ministry of Economy said.
That means the UAE received 1.34 million tourists from Oman last year.
The road show was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Economy, UAE, Tourism Department officials of UAE, Dubai Police, airline representatives from Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad and flydubai and travel agents from Oman.