Sharjah - Violators will also have their vehicles seized for one week.
Published: Fri 21 Jun 2019, 6:53 PM
Sharjah authorities have urged motorists not to rent tyres to pass vehicle tests and warned against using invalid, fake and faulty tyres during the soaring temperature to avoid fatal accidents.
Lt Saud Al Shaiba, director of the awareness department at the Sharjah Police, said that during the last two years, several people were killed or received serious injuries due to accidents caused by expired tyres.
He said: "The temperature reaches up to 50 degrees Celsius in summer, which makes the road surfaces to become very hot. This can cause the old and worn-out tyres to burst and lead to horrific accidents." He explained that the condition of car tyres is a major factor in causing accidents. "During summer, motorists should double-check the safety of their cars and tyres before travelling," he said.
He added that during annual vehicle inspections, some trucks and vehicles were found using unsafe tyres. Some motorists were found to be renting tyres for two hours or days to use them to pass the vehicle test required for registration renewal.
Some motorists have also been caught with tyres that have been retreaded by adding external cover to make them appear new. During June inspections, a large number of motorists were issued fines for using invalid tyres but found that they had passed inspections a day to two or even hours before. The motorists admitted they rented tyres from outlets in industrial areas to pass the tests.
"Motorists do this because they just want to save some money, ignoring that such kind of violation could cost them their lives," he said.
Awareness campaign
The police annually carry out awareness campaign following the guidelines of Ministry of Interior to ensure tyre safety during the summer time.
The campaign aims at educating motorists about the importance of using safe tyres during hot summer days. He said the Sharjah Police, in coordination with the Sharjah Economic and Development Department (SEDD), are making great efforts to combat fake tyres and crackdown on shops that rent tyres to pass vehicle tests. "We are taking measures to prosecute the violators for fraud and endangering people's lives," he added.
Lt Al Shaiba said that heavy truck drivers must also ensure the safety of their tyres, and replace them if they are expired.
He explained that if the trucks are found using unsafe tyres, the drivers would be fined Dh500, given four black points and their vehicles would be seized for one week.
An official from the SEDD said that during inspections carried out by consumer protection section, the department had seized large number of fake tyres and issued fines to a number of automobile workshops and outlets found renting or selling invalid tyres.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com
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