Old vehicles face ban from UAE roads

ROAD BAN: Vehicles older than 20 years will no longer be allowed on the UAE's roads from January, the Interior Ministry has said. (Getty Images)

Vehicles older than 20 years will be banned from the UAE’s roads from January, the Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday.

A senior official at the ministry said licences for light vehicles manufactured before 1988 would not be renewed after January, while the import of cars manufactured five years earlier would be banned, UAE daily Khaleej Times reported on Monday.

Colonel Ghaith Al Zaabi, director general of the Federal Traffic and Patrol Department, said the decision was aimed at regulating licensing of light and heavy vehicles with the objective of reducing traffic, and to protect the environment from the emissions.

Licences of cars manufactured 15 years ago would also not be renewed from January 2010, he added.

The decision also bans transfer of licence of vehicles aged more than 10 years.

However, vintage and classic cars have been exempted from the new rules, if they fulfil technical requirements, he said.

According to Ministry of Interior's statistics, the UAE has 1.8 million vehicles of different makes and manufacturing years. Import of used light vehicles would be allowed if it is not more than five years old or not more than seven years old for heavy vehicles.

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