Dubai cracks down on drivers

2008-12-01 07:26

Dubai - Certain foreigners living and working in the United Arab Emirates will no longer be able to obtain driving licences if they are doing jobs considered to be menial, the Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Nurses, cooks, housemaids, gardeners and tailors top a list of 100 occupations in which workers without a university education will no longer be granted licences, the English-language daily said.

It quoted a police official as saying the authorities were invoking an existing law, rarely applied in the past, to curb the number of cars on the roads.

Licensing officials and driving schools were told last week to start checking applicants' residency permits to determine if they are eligible to drive, he added.

"The move is meant to reduce the huge number of vehicles by limiting the number of professionals allowed to obtain driving licences," the official said.

The UAE has also decided to ban renewing the road licences of vehicles more than 15 years old as of 2010, in a bid to curb congestion and pollution.

Motoring is a must in Dubai, given the absence of adequate public transport. The first phase of a modern metro system in the emirate will not be completed until September 2009.

Foreigners comprise more than 84% of the UAE's population of 4.7 million, with hundreds of thousands in low-paid jobs. The living and working conditions of migrant workers have often been criticised by rights groups.

- AFP