DUBAI, 11 July 2006 — Travelers preparing to leave the UAE on overseas summer holidays are being warned to not to be duped into buying forged driving documents.

Mohammed ibn Sulayem, president of the Automobile and Touring Club for the UAE (ATCUAE), delivered the warning as a national awareness campaign to counter the sale of forged International Driving Permits was launched.

“Anyone who has an international driving permit, and didn’t buy it from the ATCUAE, from one of our agents, or from an Emirates Post outlet, could run into trouble,” said Sulayem.

The newly designed permits, with dark blue covers, are stamped at point of sale with a silver ATCUAE hologram, making them difficult to forge.

Sulayem pointed out that no other driving centers or outlets in the emirates are authorized to sell International Driving Permits.

“We’ll take action against anybody who continues to issue forged driving permits,” he said.

The permits, issued exclusively in the Emirates by the ATCUAE, is available at all 82 Emirates Post outlets across the country. They are also available from the ATCUAE offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

“After an accident, anyone showing the police a forged permit may find their insurance is invalid. A legitimate International Driving Permit is recognized in 170 countries,” Sulayem said.

International Driving Permits are printed in 10 languages, including Arabic. They can help overcome language barriers between drivers and police, and are a useful form of identification if a passport goes missing. Customers need to produce a valid UAE driving license, a copy of their passport and residence visa, and two passport size photographs, with their completed application form along with the fee.