Use of cargo vehicles to transport people banned

Modified pick-up trucks used to carry passengers have been banned by the Interior Ministry.

According to a ministerial decree, all vehicles that have been modified to transport people will not be registered nor will their registrations be renewed as of July 20.

Under the new law, these vehicles will no longer be allowed to carry passengers after the deadline.

The ministry, according to an official source, has already sent circulars to all traffic departments telling them to stop registering cargo vehicles — particularly those used by contracting companies — that are modified to carry passengers.

Companies and government offices using modified vehicles to carry passengers have also been told to return their vehicles to their original specifications before the expiration of their registrations.

“Those who fail to abide by the new law will be fined according to the traffic laws of the country,” said the decree, which was issued by the ministry yesterday.

Dubai was the first emirate to introduce the law several years ago, followed by Abu Dhabi in 2002.

The ministry issued the decree to ban the practice throughout the country. After the ban was implemented in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, there was a dramatic decline in the number of casualties among workers who were being driven from their housing compounds to their work sites and vice versa.

The decree also calls upon companies and government offices to arrange proper buses or passenger vans to transport their workers.

“The new regulation is being imposed for the safety of people. Modifying vehicles for the transportation of people is a risky business and, therefore, it has to stop.

The new decree has been issued to make our roads safer,” said a statement issued by the ministry.”

According to a source at the ministry, companies will be told about the new law through advertisements in the media.

Commenting on the law, an official with a cleaning company said it had been providing proper bus services to its workers for some time.

“We did transport our workers in modified pick-up trucks, but as the local authorities restricted their movement in Abu Dhabi, we switched to proper bus services,” he said.

Mohammad Haroon, a Bangladeshi painter working for a construction company, said it is good news. “Especially for workers like us, who are moved from one place to another hanging on in huge trailers.”

He said it is extremely uncomfortable to travel in these cargo trucks, especially off-road.

A Sharjah-based contracting company supervisor, who requested anonymity, said most of the workers are transported from one place to another like livestock.

“I have been seeing these poor workers being transported in pick-ups and huge container-like trailers. Summers are the worst times to travel in these vehicles, especially after spending hours of hard labour under the sun.”

He said the vehicles are crowded with workers. “In such cases, these workers get rashes all over because they are cramped in boxed vehicles with no air. Most of the time, they end up with skin diseases and rashes by the time they reach the camp.”

Today, however, he was thankful. “It is good news of all of us,” he said.