Dubai: Vehicles with expired registration for more than one year can be confiscated as they pose a serious danger to road users, said a senior official.
"We have the authority to close the files and confiscate vehicles whose registrations have expired for more than one year," said Ahmad Hashim Behroozian, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Licencing Agency of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
The campaign would initially aim to confiscate vehicles whose registration has not been renewed for three years.
"We will close their files and ask the police to confiscate such vehicles while the owner of the offending vehicles will not be able to do any transactions with the RTA until he settles the issues," he made it clear.
There are around 6,000 vehicles with more than three-year-expired registration whereas 80,000 have not been renewed for over a year in Dubai.
"The issue of vehicles with expired registration has become a big nuisance for there are still thousands of motorists driving such vehicles posing serious dangers to road users," he said.
It is mandatory for every vehicle owner in Dubai and other emirates to have an annual technical fitness test of a vehicle done at any of the approved vehicle testing centres, paysfines if any and renew the insurance and the registration.
Behroozian said the RTA was also in talks with the police to monitor such vehicles through speed radars and Salik toll gates and pursue their owners accordingly. He said the main reason for delays in vehicle registration was heavy fines, either traffic, radar, parking or Salik.
"We are also offering instalments for easy payments of hefty fines," he added.
Behroozian said the RTA was also talking to insurance companies to develop a mechanism to stop providing cover to vehicles with expired registration.
"We have also requested the Ministry of Interior to introduce hefty fines for the offenders," he added. Currently, there is a fine of Dh20 per month if the vehicle registration is delayed. Motorists get a one-month grace period to get their vehicle registered after the registration expiry date.
The RTA also sends SMS to motorists in Dubai reminding them about expiry date of their vehicles.
Indicators
- 6,000 vehicles not registered for more than 3 years
- 80,000 vehicles not registered for more than a year
- 1.02m vehicles registered in 2009
What do you think of this initiative? Will this help in making sure that cars on the road are
safe? Tell us what you think.
