Dubai, June 16: Hundreds of motorists across Dubai and Sharjah have been caught renting tyres to avoid the cost of buying new ones to pass vehicle tests for renewal of registration.
More than 2,000 trucks and cars across the two emirates were found with unsafe tyres between April and June as part of a nationwide inspection campaign by the Ministry of Interior. The motorists were found to be renting tyres for two hours to use them to pass the vehicle testing required for registration renewal.
For instance, a new truck tyre could cost up to Dh4,000 while an old tyre costs as little as Dh500.
Ministry of Interior statistics for 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 showed that 264 accidents were caused by tyre blowouts that killed 19 and injured 219.
In Sharjah, Ahmed bin Darweesh, Head of Anjad patrols, said the 1,086 cases of using invalid tyres were recorded against truck drivers and other motorists during inspections in June. Darweesh said the number of accidents caused by unsafe tyres has increased.
In June, the old tyres on a heavy truck exploded and caused the driver to lose control and the vehicle collided with three other trucks and 12 small vehicles. Some motorists have also been caught with tyres that have been retreaded by adding external cover to make them appear new. During June inspections, a large number of motorists were issued fines for using invalid tyres but had passed inspections a day to two or even hours before. The motorists admitted they rented tyres from outlets in industrial areas to pass the tests.
Motorists who use old and invalid tyres will be slapped with a fine of Dh200. Their vehicles will be impounded for a week.
The campaign aims at educating motorists about the importance of using safe tyres during hot summer days. “During summer, the roads will be hot which causes the tyres to explode when the vehicle is speeding,” Darweesh said.
In Dubai, Traffic Police have imposed fines on the owners or drivers of over 1,210 heavy vehicles for violating the safety rules by using retreaded tyres, said Colonel Saif Rashid Muhair, Deputy Director of the General Department of Traffic. Most of them were caught during vehicle registration.
He said the vehicles’ owners and drivers were fined during a campaign launched by the department in coordination with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
During the campaign, the traffic police have also seized the driving licences of two truck drivers for using retreaded and damaged tyres unfit for carrying heavy loads and posing a safety risk to other motorists. The driving licences will be released only after the owners replaced the old tyres.
Colonel Muhair said the owners often retread the old and damaged tyres to give them a new look and get clearance at the time of renewal of the vehicle registration. However, retreading is unsafe as it does not fix underlying damage to the tyres.
He said the department is coordinating with the Traffic Police Prosecution Department to come out with new measures and laws to prosecute the violators for fraud and endangering people’s lives.
Police in coordination with the RTA are seeking to increase safety awareness of the drivers of heavy vehicles and familiarise them with the potential risks of driving technically unsound trucks. Officials of both emirates urged the motorists to inspect their tyres regularly.
Nawal Asker, Deputy Head of Economic Relations at Sharjah Economic Department (SED), said during 2008 and beginning of the this year, the number of automobile workshops and outlets found renting or selling invalid tyres was 389.
The inspectors had only issued violation tickets against shops that sold invalid tyres, but there was no law to ban selling of used tyres. The SED first fines the violating shops and in case of repetition, it closes them down.
Saeed Sahib, heavy truck owner and driver, said a new tyre of a heavy vehicle costs Dh2,500 to Dh4,000 while the old one costs between Dh500 and Dh1,000. “The high cost of the new tyres, especially of heavy vehicle, pushed us to turn to buying used ones, which (are) considered affordable,” he said.
Malik Terbal, owner of a tyre outlet, said people are hiring tyres only to pass registration testing, but he never rents out new tyres, but only sells valid old tyres.
“Around 70 per cent of my customers are only buying old and used tyres, while 30 per cent of (the) costumers of high income and with luxury cars are buying the new ones. If I decide to sell only new tyres, I would lose and shut down the business,” he explained.
Ibrahim Al Wasilla, workshop owner, said the old tyres have been classified into two categories: used tyres number one and used tyres number two. Number one is used tyre but it is almost new, while the number two is almost expired. The prices are based on the classification of the tyres. Renting the tyres for minimum two hours is profitable for outlets that charge up to Dh200 per hour, he said.
–Agencies