Dubai: Motorists using coins or any other devices to cheat the Salik system to avoid the toll fee cannot avoid fines, said a senior official.
"I know some people are trying to cheat the system in different ways but let me tell you that the system cannot be cheated as their car registration plates are being read by the cameras installed at the Salik gates every time they pass through the gates," said Salah Al Marzouqi, Director of the Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.
He said that he came to know about the coin trick which some people are using in a bid to cheat the system (as reported in Gulf News).
"I myself tried it and found out that the system did not read the tag if a coin is used but it does not mean that the motorist will not get a fine," he said.
Glitches
Gulf News reported earlier this week that some motorists are cheating the system by using a one dihram coin, which they keep pressed behind the chip in the Salik tag pasted on their car windscreen and pass through the gate without any toll deduction or fines because the Salik website does not show the account deduction details.
Al Marzouqi explained that the registration plate of a vehicle is captured by the camera even if the tag is not read for some reason, every time a motorist passes through a toll gate.
"The posting of fines has been facing some delays because it is taking time during the quality control services as we revise the issue several times before issuing a fine. A huge number of fines have already been issued and we will finish the backlog soon," he added.
Al Marzouqi said: "We have been facing some glitches because of wrong information provided by motorists who registered for the Salik system but I hope the system will be streamlined within a month," Al Marzouqi said.
He said the RTA had problem with the data of motorists who registered for Salik. Many gave wrong telephone numbers, which delayed the procedure to inform them about the deduction of tolls through the SMS service.
Motorists should contact the RTA's customer service centre on SALIK (800-72545) in case of any complaint and they can also contact the RTA office if they are not satisfied with the customer service centre.
Al Marzouqi said that if a motorists passes through a toll gate without having sufficient credit in his Salik account or without a Salik tag, his trip will not show on the website in his Salik account.
"In case of insufficient credit, the case is referred to the fines section for extensive review. If a violator manages to top up his account within two days, his fine is waived and only the toll money is deducted otherwise he is given a fine for not having sufficient credit or not using a Salik tag at all," he added.
The RTA has already announced it will waive fines for all motorists who used the Salik gates without tags during the first two weeks of Salik's introduction in July
He said that motorists coming from the GCC countries will also get fines in case they pass through Salik gates installed on Shaikh Zayed Road near the Mall of the Emirates and Al Garhoud Bridge on Shaikh Rashid Road.
Al Marzouqi advised motorists to be careful while giving details at the time of getting their Salik tags. Also, motorists should give correct information while topping up their Salik accounts.
Fines
- 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
