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As many as 7,332 vehicles have been seized in Abu Dhabi for running on tyres that the police deem to be too old or unsafe.
The story, carried by the Khaleej Times, suggests that the majority of seizures have been of heavy trucks, pickups and other commercial vehicles. Meanwhile, another 105 vehicles received penalties for being overloaded.
Other emirates have also been dishing out punishments as part of a summer-long campaign against bad rubber. RAK police say that they have issued fines to at least 337 vehicle owners, mostly heavy lorries. Over in Sharjah, some 744 trucks have been impounded for a week, while Dubai police report an even busier time – last year they found 638 trucks on perished circles on the single stretch of road out to the Oman border.
The importance of running on good tyres was underlined in July when a bus filled with construction workers burst in Ras Al Khaimah rolled due to a burst tyre. An expert said: “The heat wears tyres out many times faster than in cooler climates, as the internal pressure rises and the rubber disintegrates. Additionally, many vehicles in the Gulf are loaded well beyond designated specs. This can also result in tyre wear and failure.”
Recent months have seen a focus on back street shops, which ply a trade in secondhand tyres. While this in itself is not automatically dangerous or illegal, there have been stories that such operations have been ‘renting’ good tyres for just long enough to get the truck or trailer though inspection.
Police chiefs are keen to stop shops involved in such practices, with Colonel Al Jeeda of RAK police suggesting that a surveillance operation be mounted.
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