Dubai: Big changes are coming to UAE roads. New federal traffic rules taking effect on January 1, 2027, will change how long your driving licence lasts, how often you renew your car registration, how many vehicles you can own and even how many hours you can spend behind the wheel. Away from the roads, a Dubai resident is Dh25 million richer, an aviation fan has brought a luxury A380 suite into his living room, and parents finally have the dates for the winter school break. If you missed any of it, here’s everything you need to know from the week.
Motorists may soon be able to skip the annual renewal. Under Article 98 of the new federal traffic regulations, owners of light vehicles can apply for two-year registration if the car was new when first registered, is no more than six years old and is owned by an individual rather than a company. Meeting all three conditions does not guarantee approval, though. The final decision rests with the licensing authority.
From 2027, your age and residency status will decide how long your licence lasts. Drivers under 21 will get a temporary one-year licence, while first-time applicants aged 21 and above will receive one valid for two years. On renewal, UAE and GCC nationals will qualify for ten-year licences and expatriate residents for five-year ones. The rules also set minimum ages for each vehicle type, starting at 18 for cars.
Under Article 89 of the 2027 rules, individual residents can register up to five vehicles. The first two come under the standard provision, while each additional vehicle will carry an extra fee at registration or renewal. The regulation does not yet specify the fee amounts, or how residents who already own more than five vehicles will be treated.
Drivers will have to limit their total driving time to nine hours in any 24-hour period, under Article 7 of the new regulations. Even below that limit, motorists must not drive when too tired to do so safely. The rules also cap speeds on residential internal roads at 40km/h, require helmets for cyclists and ban delivery riders from carrying passengers.
Doctors responding to medical emergencies, along with drivers in essential services such as road maintenance, vehicle recovery and accident scene mapping, will be allowed to drive up to 40km/h over the limit outside built-up areas. They may also use bus lanes, and road shoulders when traffic is stationary. Doctors must complete approved training and hold a valid UAE medical licence, and drivers still cannot run red lights.
Meena Sareen, an Indian national living in Dubai, won the Dh25 million grand prize in the Series 292 draw with ticket number 304251, and will share it with three others. “Right now, I’m shivering. I’m speechless,” she said when she got the call. An Al Ain resident drove away with a Range Rover Velar, and the next live draw on December 3 offers another Dh25 million prize.
Four winners each took home a 24-carat gold bar worth about Dh95,000 in Big Ticket’s final October e-draw. Ras Al Khaimah supervisor Rajesh Gopalan won on his first try, Dubai advertising professional Anish Raveendradas plans to pay off a housing loan back home, and Sharjah school bus driver Muhammed Ashraf Mundakai Samsu will split the prize with six friends. Omani businessman Yousuf Hamed Mohammed Al Naabi, who plays solo, says he will keep buying tickets.
Aviation enthusiast Arun Rajagopal has flown the A380 224 times, covering about 1.16 million kilometres on 97 different aircraft. Now he has recreated the living area of Etihad’s three-room A380 suite, The Residence, in his Dubai apartment, an installation that took a UAE upcycling firm nearly a year. “I know this is not the real thing, but it is as close as the real thing would be on the ground,” he said.
Parents, mark your calendars. The last school day is Friday, December 11, with the three-week break running from December 14 to January 3, and classes resuming on Monday, January 4, 2027. The dates apply to public schools and private schools in Dubai and Sharjah on September-start calendars. Schools that start their year in April may follow different dates.
The CBSE board exams are expected in February and March 2027, though the official date sheet has not been released yet. Last year, the board issued a tentative timetable in September and the final one in late October. Class 10 students can again take a second exam to improve their scores in up to three subjects, and the date sheet will be available at cbse.gov.in once it’s out.
Abdul El Sayed, a Michigan Democrat, made history this week as the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. His wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, is a psychiatrist in Ann Arbor whose family traces its roots to Bhatkal in Karnataka. Her grandfather served as deputy finance minister of Mysore State in the 1950s, and El Sayed has joked, “I might be more Indian than I am Arab.”
Qatar now offers eligible Pakistanis a 30-day tourist visa on arrival, provided they book accommodation through Discover Qatar and buy health insurance. Pakistani passport holders can travel to 29 destinations without a visa in advance, including visa-free Barbados and Rwanda and visa-on-arrival spots such as the Maldives, Nepal and Cambodia.
