Plans to lower the minimum driving age from 18 to 16 have been abandoned after authorities deemed it “unnecessary”, it was reported on Tuesday.
“Reducing the age limit for new drivers was just an idea and we are not considering it at all at our level,” said Ahmad Hashim Behroozian, CEO of the Licensing Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in comments published by UAE daily Gulf News.
Behroozian told the paper the agency has not made any changes in its policy regarding the minimum age of drivers.
“We have not recommended any such proposal to the federal government either,” he said.
In October last year, Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police’s Traffic Department, had proposed to reduce the legal driving age.
Behroozian said the agency was more focused on improving the driving standards in Dubai.
The agency is planning to make changes to existing driving courses being offered by driving institutes.
A new curriculum will be introduced by the end of this year, he told the paper.
The curriculum, Behroozian added, would be a combination of classroom training and on-road practical training and it will have modules from “easy to difficult”.
He said the new training system would start with a pilot project enrolling some students and would formally be introduced by the end of this year. The test will be available in English, Arabia and Urdu.
