With 2,400 vehicles having already been abandoned so far in 2019, a month-long campaign has been launched by Dubai Municipality in a bid to raise public awareness about the numbers of neglected vehicles and other types of equipment being left in public places.
The slogan ‘Clean Vehicle … Sustainable City’ underpins a new ‘My Vehicle’ campaign that intends to cut down on the amount of equipment and vehicles being left in public places throughout Dubai and therefore prevent them from ruining the city’s image.
Dubai Municipality waste management department director Abdul Majeed Abdul Aziz Saifaie says that the city’s general appearance is distorted and traffic flow is disrupted by abandoned vehicles, and that it is important that the community is aware of the problem.
Therefore, Saifaie says that the campaign is intended to highlight the damage caused by abandoned cars and raise community awareness of the issue by promoting values such as cooperation with the authorities and departments in the private and public sectors, as well as social responsibility, in order to maintain the sustainable beauty and public appearance of public utilities.
The campaign, which will come to an end on 1stOctober, will incorporate a number of different activities, including the likes of the organisation of awareness exhibitions, which have been organised in conjunction with the Roads and Transport Authority in vehicle registration centres located in Al Awir, Al Qusais and Warsan and Al Wasl centres in Nadd Al Hamr and Al Jaddaf.
Electronic screens in the emirate’s vehicle inspection centres will also be used to disseminate awareness messages, as will emails to all employees of the Dubai government and official newspapers.
Visits to raise awareness are also being organised for workers and officials at industrial workshops and garages in a variety of areas such as Al Qusais, Port Saeed, Umm Ramool and Jebel Ali.
The process of having abandoned cars removed begins with a warning being issued in sticker form on the vehicle in question for 15 days.
If the owner gives no response to that warning, the car will then be moved to the scrapyard owned by the municipality, and if the owner fails to recover it within six months, it will then be sold at auction.
Owners who leave vehicles with a dirty appearance can also be fined as much as Dh500 under the terms of the new campaign, with a senior official telling Gulf News that if the owner claims the confiscated vehicle within six months, they will have to pay Dh1,381, a fine that includes a towing fee, storage charges and municipal fines.
Anyone who owns or drives a motor vehicle in Dubai or elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates is legally obligated to have car insurance.
Car insurance offers financial protection against personal injury, damage to your motor vehicle and theft of your vehicle in addition to damage or injury to a third party.