RTA move to deny insurance to cars with expired registrationRTA move to deny insurance to cars with expired registration

Dubai: The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is in talks with insurance companies asking them not to insure vehicles with expired registration, a senior official has said.

"We are trying to develop a mechanism with the help of insurance companies to stop insurance of vehicles after expiry of their registration because such vehicles pose a serious threat to road users," said Ahmad Hashim Behroozian, Chief Executive Officer of the RTA's Licensing Agency.

He told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that the move was part of the campaign to encourage motorists to register their vehicles on time. "There are more than 80,000 vehicles in Dubai with expired registration as the owners including individuals and companies avoid registering for various reasons, mainly due to hefty fines," he noted.

Strict control

Behroozian said that the Licensing Agency has also started allowing payment of fines in instalments in case a motorist or company has hefty fines. An individual motorist can pay in equal instalments in case of having fines of a minimum Dh5,000 while instalments are offered to companies if their vehicles have accumulated fines of Dh30,000 and above. The traffic fines include fines issued by the police and the RTA including Salik and parking fines.

"We are going to have strict control on vehicle registration as we have taken up the matter with the federal insurance authority to develop a new strategy regarding vehicle insurance with expired registration," he added.

The RTA has also sought from the federal government a law for heavy fines on unregistered vehicles and for delaying registration. Currently, there is a fine of Dh20 per month if the vehicle registration is delayed.

Motorists get one month's grace period to get their vehicle registered after the registration expiry date. "We are also working closely with the Dubai Police to spot vehicles with expired registration and heavy fines are issued."

Expired registration

The number of vehicles with expired registration is about eight per cent of the total registered vehicles in Dubai. The total number of vehicles registered in Dubai reached 1,021,880 in 2009 compared to 996,997 in 2008 — an increase of 2.5 per cent or 24,884 new vehicles.

Behroozian said that the RTA would also stop accepting insurance policies for vehicles physically as all insurance companies are required to send the vehicle insurance online after February 11.

"We have asked insurance companies to link their computer systems with the Licensing Agency and make the policies available online," he said.

Quad bike: Rules being reviewed

The RTA is reviewing quad bike registration rules to encourage more people to use the service, Ahmad Hashim Behroozian, Chief Executive Officer of the RTA's Licensing Agency, has said.

"Based on our customers' feedback, we are considering reducing the registration fee and also considering either doing away with technical testing or making it easier," he said.