Gulf | Bahrain
Old vehicles will not be banned, says Bahrain traffic official
A traffic official on Tuesday denied reports that authorities were planning to take all vehicles older than eight years off the roads.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:04 May 28, 2008
Manama: A traffic official on Tuesday denied reports that authorities were planning to take all vehicles older than eight years off the roads.
Reports have circulated in Bahrain over the last week claiming that the ban on old vehicles was imminent because of the move by some Gulf Cooperation Council countries to unify their traffic procedures and policies regarding cars.
"Such claims are totally groundless because there is no regional plan to impose any bans on vehicles because of their age. Our main concern is to ensure that we have road worthy vehicles that meet all the technical requirements," Abdul Rahman Bu Hijji, a spokesman for the traffic directorate, told Gulf News. "We regularly hear about such claims, but we never understand why people circulate them."
Reports
Reports last year that the traffic authorities would not register cars that were more than 15 years old sparked angry reactions against what people called "the lack of sensitivity towards those who cannot afford to buy new cars." The reports were subsequently denied by the traffic authorities.
However, Bu Hijji on Monday insisted that the authorities were conscious of the people's budget conditions ... and would not take decisions that would hurt them financially.
"We are well aware that for most of the people in Bahrain, loans and installments are the way to purchase cars, and that in some cases it takes them up to seven years to pay them back. There is no way that we will make people sell their cars shortly after they finish paying their loans or installments," he said.
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