Driving with faulty tyres: Dh200 fine

According to Brigadier Khamis Ishaq Mohammed, Deputy Director of the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police, roads accidents caused by tyre bursts have decreased by 49 per cent over the past five years (2010-2014) in Abu Dhabi.

Deaths and serious injuries caused by tyre bursts for the same period decreased by 58 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Brigadier Mohammed warned motorists that driving with expired or faulty tyres is a traffic offense punishable by an impoundment of the vehicle up to one-week and a Dh200 fine, as per the Federal Law No. 21 of 1995, citing faulty tyres like ticking time bombs.

Brigadier Mohammed also noted a seven per cent decrease in the number of accidents due to tire burst over the past ten months of the year,  compared with the same period last year. “This improvement is due to the positive outcomes achieved in traffic safety levels in the emirate over the period,” he indicated.

The Deputy Director of the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police highlighted the unrelenting efforts exerted to reduce the widespread use of worn-out and unfit tyres by tightening traffic control on all roads. “As a part of the safety campaigns, a total of 93,488 vehicles were fined over the past three years for unfit tyres,” he said.

He also noted that the Traffic and Patrols Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police recently held a coordination meeting with strategic partners in order to discuss the dangers of using counterfeit or expired tyres and their resulting accidents. The strategic partners included tire companies representatives; the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport; the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC); and the Department of Economic Development.

He also highlighted the necessary information that drivers should be aware of before purchasing tyres. He said” “Drivers should be aware of the following: the manufacturing date and date of expiry after installation; the importance of changing an expired tire; and the proper ways to store tyres. Drivers should also be aware of how to inspect tyres prior to buying, and to ensure that they have not been affected by heat or humidity – as this increases the dangers of a tire burst and subsequently leads to accidents.”

Brigadier Ishaq Khamis advised motorists not to buy tyres two years after their manufacturing date, stressing the need to read the manufacturing date, which is engraved in the tire, to make sure they have not been in storage for a long period of time.

“The buyer must search for the four-digit DOT code branded on the rim of the tire, which indicates the date of manufacture. For example, the four digits 4202 branded on the tire’s rim mean that the tire was manufactured on the 42nd week of 2002; with the 2 digits being used to identify the week immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year,” he said.

On the same note, Brigadier Mohammed highlighted the main causes behind tyre bursts, which include low or high air pressure; overloading; long distance and high speed driving; old worn-out or counterfeit tyres; defective tyres, poor workmanship; poor storage, and remanufacturing of used tyres.