How old is your car?

Martin & Nettie Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:38 am

Rule banning 20-year-old vehicles postponed By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter.

Last updated: November 30, 2008, 23:51

Dubai: Vehicles more than 20 years old will still be allowed on the UAE's roads following instruction from President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The decision, issued on Sunday, postpones implementation of ministerial decision No. 535, 2008, which bans vehicles older than 20 years old on the country's roads. The decision was directed to take effect from Monday, December 1.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior said on Sunday that the decision was suspended, which set a cut-off date for the renewal of car registrations, for cars manufactured from 1988.

This previous decision was due to take effect from December 1. More studies - Shaikh Saif said that the decision was postponed in order to give enough time for people of low income who own such vehicles, to continue using them. "Shaikh Khalifa's decision is timely and aims to allow concerned authorities to conduct more studies and come up with suitable bylaws to put the ministerial decision into effect," Shaikh Saif said. He thanked Shaikh Khalifa for his wise leadership and for serving the best interests of the UAE public. Earlier, the ministry announced a decision that the registration of cars manufactured before 1988 would not be renewed, while the import of cars manufactured five years earlier would be banned.

The registration for cars manufactured 15 years ago would also not be renewed from January 2010. In November, Gulf News reported that a total of 423,000 cars throughout the UAE would not be available for sale, under the ten-year old car rule. However, while sale of the cars would be prohibited, registration could have been renewed for the current owners to continue using. The total number of cars in the UAE was 1.85 million in November, putting the Emirates among nations with the highest car ownership per population in the world. In Dubai, there are 541 cars per 1,000 of the population, which is the highest throughout the UAE.

Imagine that being implemented in the Uk?