UAE | Traffic and Transport

Keep your vehicles roadworthy or face fine, says Dubai official

Motorists will now be fined for not maintaining the roadworthiness of their vehicles throughout the year, said a senior official.

  • By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
  • Published: 00:09 July 8, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Every vehicle in the Dubai and other emirates in the UAE has to undergo annual inspection to ensure roadworthiness at the time of registration renewal.
  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Dubai: Motorists will now be fined for not maintaining the roadworthiness of their vehicles throughout the year, said a senior official.

"We will launch a campaign with the help of Dubai Police to carry out random checks of vehicles on roads to ensure that they are safe and fit to drive," said Ahmad Behroozian, Chief Executive Officer of the Licensing Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

"We not only want to have safe drivers but also safe vehicles on roads to reduce accidents and traffic congestion," he added.

He added that many vehicles owners use rented or retreaded tyres to get their vehicles passed at the time of registration renewal. Some people also get the help of car repair workshops to get their car temporarily fit for annual testing.

Every vehicle in the Dubai and other emirates in the UAE has to undergo annual inspection to ensure roadworthiness at the time of registration renewal.

"Through random inspections, we want to make sure that every vehicle on Dubai's roads is fit to drive," he said.

Lives at risk

Experts from the RTA and the police will check vehicle tyres in particular because many accident are caused due to tyres bursting.

Behroozian added that many people do not keep their vehicles in a fit state throughout the year putting their lives and other road users at risk.

"We want all motorists to maintain their vehicles throughout the year and not just at the time of annual testing," he said.

The RTA in cooperation with the police also recently launched a campaign against heavy vehicles and issued fines to more than 1,200 vehicles for violating safety rules and using retreaded tyres.

According to RTA statistics, more than 114,000 vehicles were registered in Dubai last year increasing the total number to 853,827 compared to 739,547 vehicles in 2006. This includes 79,981 heavy vehicles including trucks and buses.

During the inspection campaign, officials will also check the validity of vehicle registration. "Fines will be imposed on motorists who drive vehicles with expired registration," said another RTA official.

He said that more than 84,000 vehicles in Dubai, mostly owned by car rental companies, use Dubai roads without valid registration.

"We warn them to have them register at the earliest lest they should face a fine," he added.

Meanwhile a study recently conducted by Dubai Municipality under a project called On-road Vehicle Emission Measurement Using Remote Sensing Device (RSD) on Dubai roads stressed the need to control vehicle emission, which accounts for over 75 per cent of the city's air pollutants.

Emission measurement was evaluated for Dubai and non-Dubai licensed vehicles as well as to the age of motor vehicles and fuel fleet usage.

Trucks targeted

Dubai Police issued more than 4,000 fines for heavy vehicles committing traffic offences in June as part of a campaign.

Lieutenant Colonel Saif Al Mazroui, Acting Deputy Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, praised the team which is working on the campaign.

He warned heavy vehicle drivers of the dangerous consequences of committing traffic offences, as they do not only endanger their own lives, but also the lives of other road users.

Captain Khamis Bu Samah, Acting Director of Bur Dubai Traffic Department, said most traffic offences issued included, unfit tyres, a lack of safety standards and overloading.

He called on heavy vehicle drivers to abide by safety standards of tyres and abide by traffic rules.

Do you get your car serviced regularly? Will these random checks help reduce the number of accidents due to poorly maintained cars? Why? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form below to send your comments.

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