Offering namaz on streets to be fined in Abu Dhabi (UAE)

(Credit : Gulf News)

Abu Dhabi (UAE) – The Abu Dhabi Police announced on Monday that drivers who stop their cars to pray in places other than designated prayer areas on the highways will be fined 1,000 AED (Rs. 22,314) for the offence because it endangers both them and other road users.

To improve road safety, the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police has started a campaign to raise awareness of the risks associated with inappropriate bus parking on the internal and exterior roadways of the Emirate.

Lieutenant Colonel Salah Abdullah Al Humairi, Deputy Director of Abu Dhabi Transport Department, urged motorists to go to rest houses, petrol pumps, mosques and other places to offer namaz and not do it on the side of the road.

The infraction of stopping the car on the side of the road in an undesignated location would result in a fine of 1,000 AED, per the updated rules of Traffic Law No. (178). The fine for stopping a car at an intersection or a turn is 500 AED, the fine for parking a car in a way that endangers onlookers is 400 AED, and the fine for failing to take the required precautions in the event that their cars break down is 500 AED.

Editorial Viewpoint

If such a rule can exist in Islamic countries, why can’t it happen in secular India ? Indians should put pressure on the Police, Administration and Government to make such a rule.