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Dubai: Motorists who have paid to use Salik toll gates in Dubai are furious about the Roads and Transport Authority's decision of waiving of fines of violators and demand their money back.
"I spent more than Dh600 during the last six months to use toll controlled roads for fear of being fined but it seems that dishonesty pays the motorist who defy the system because their fines have been waived," said a motorist.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has already sold around 700,000 Salik tag to motorists since the Salik system was introduced. Cost of each tag is Dh50 in addition to the credit a motorist put in his account to pay for using the toll gate.
RTA had announced fine for violators range from Dh50 to Dh10,000.
The Authority yesterday waived Salik fines for the first four months from July 1 to October 31. The decision is applied to motorists whether they had got Salik tag and pass through the Salik gates without enough credit or motorists who never bought a Salik tag and used Salik gates.
'Goodwill gesture'
At an average, motorists in Dubai spend Dh100 to Dh300 to pass through Salik gates while this amount is higher for commercial vehicles as they have to pass through gates several times.
"I spent around Dh200 every month and so far spent more than Dh800 on Salik to avoid fines. I think RTA should also refund my money because motorists have been using facility even without paying. Instead of being fined, they are being rewarded for being dishonest and 'cheating' the system," said Abdul Malek, a UAE national.
"The decision to waive fines have been taken after in-depth review of the Salik toll violations since it was introduced and it has been done as a goodwill gesture towards motorists," said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of RTA.
"RTA has an updated and integrated system to monitor the fines before issuing them to Salik subscribers," he said.
Al Tayer said a special system for complaints has also been introduced by RTA.
"Motorists can now also check the validity of their fines by visiting the Licence and Registration Centres of RTA in Al Barsha, Al Qusais and Deira. These procedures reflect the transparency of RTA in dealing with the public."
He said RTA is using state-of-the-art technologies in issuing Salik fines, and the Authority also allows motorists two working days before imposing a fine. This will give motorists more time to recharge their accounts or subscribe to Salik, as the case may be.
Penalty: Fines for violations
- Maximum penalty for misuse is Dh10,000
- Insufficient balance on Salik card: Dh50
- Using Salik gate without tag: Dh100
- Repeat offence: Dh200
- Third time same offence: Dh400
- Manipulation or cheating of cards: Dh10,000
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