Abdullah Al-Qahtani

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

ABHA — The Directorate of Traffic is working on a new measure aiming to link the renewal of car registrations (istimara) to the safety and general appearance of vehicles.



The measure is basically meant to prevent old and worn-out vehicles from plying on the Kingdom’s streets.



Reliable sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that a committee comprising representatives of the Directorate of Traffic and other government agencies has been assigned to work out procedures governing the renewal of vehicle registrations.



The new measures would be implemented in the next three months and it is estimated that 32 percent of the vehicles registered in the Kingdom would be deemed unfit for use. “This means that about one million vehicles would be out of service,” said a committee member.



Abdul Aziz Al-Ahmady, a senior executive in one of the leading automotive companies in the Kingdom, said the decision serves the public interest. He said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had introduced this measure years ago and it proved to be in the interest of the road users in terms of safety.