New vehicles may soon get 3 year registration
A new traffic law whose draft was discussed by the Advisory Council yesterday suggests that a new private car coming on the road for the first time should be allowed to have road permit issued for three years instead of one.
Currently, new cars are issued road permits for a year without the need of technical inspection for three years.
The draft law suggests that cars of diplomats, ministries and other government departments and of regional and international organizations in addition to sports and other clubs should be given the option to issue a two-year road permit.
The draft also recommends that buggies driven by children in streets as well as adults in the desert must be registered with the traffic department.
In fact, all two and three-wheelers with a capacity of 50cc and more should be registered with the traffic authorities, according to the draft.
In the case of a showroom-fresh private car, the car owner should be given a sticker by the traffic department with the date of expiry of the road permit written on it if the permit is for three years.
The sticker could be prominently displayed on the new car for the authorities to see, suggests the draft law. Cars older than three years will continue to have one-year validity road permits.
The draft also suggests that rent-a-car firms, those giving motorcycles on hire and used car showroom should not park their cars in open grounds and on pavements as that blocks traffic.
Members of the Advisory Council held heated debate on the above amendment and said the companies should first be provided space by the government to park their vehicles and then they fine for such violations.
Interestingly, the draft law does not touch those articles in the existing legislation that stipulate stiff cash fines for certain violations like crossing a red light.
The Advisory Council was handed the draft after the Cabinet had approved it in July last year.
The committee filed its report but the Council, after yesterday’s debate, gave it back to it for further study. [The Peninsula]
That will allow crazy drivers with a new car to roam the streets for three years without being asked to pay the accumulated fines. A baaad idea. But somehow it is typical for the Qatari way of thinking.
Draft law soon implemented....like draft labour law?