UAE Updates

Illustration by Joaquín Kunkel

UAE Updates

Catch up on what’s been going on in the UAE this week.

May 12, 2019

U.S. American Judges in Abu Dhabi
Colleen O’Toole and Oran Whiting were sworn in as judges at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department’s commercial court after introducing compulsory English translations for civil and commercial cases last November. They will issue decisions on disputes valued at more than one million dirhams.
Youssef Al Ebri, undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department told The National the judges’ experience in U.S. American courts would “bolster the work in the mixed commercial chambers in Abu Dhabi courts and enhance the litigants’ confidence to resolve their commercial disputes to the fullest and with high integrity.”
Taxi Drivers Shifts Capped
Effective May 1, shifts for taxi drivers in Abu Dhabi will be capped to 12 hours per day after drivers admitted to taking shifts that ran up to 16 hours. Drivers have a daily quota which they must collect, with extra fares past that quota going to the driver.
AI system cuts fatigue-related accidents
Dubai’s Road and Traffic Authority Raqeeb system slashed the number of fatigue-related bus incidents by 65 percent. Raqeeb keeps track of 300 bus drivers in the city and issues alerts whenever fatigue or lack of attention are detected.
Raqeeb is one of a suite of artificial intelligence programs deployed by the RTA that monitor different parts of the traffic system such as bus lane compliance and bus punctuality.
Khaled Alhosani is News Editor. Email him at feedback@thegazelle.org.
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