Damaged vehicles are left stranded in the street following flash floods in the holy city of Makkah, in this May 9, 2014 photo.

A government committee began removing abandoned cars from streets and roads of Saudi cities recently, after these vehicles, many of them damaged, were parked for long periods of time, spoiling the view of the streets and contributing to traffic congestion.

The committee, composed of traffic departments and region directorates, will impose fines on owners who leave their cars for long periods of time on public roads. Traffic regulations can fine owners from SR100 to SR150 for such violations.

According to recent statics published in a local newspaper, traffic patrols in Riyadh have already impounded 3,041 damaged vehicles that were parked for a long time in industrial areas last year.

The Traffic Department in Riyadh removed these vehicles to help the traffic flow in the streets, especially during peak hours. The campaign was aimed at removing all kinds of abandoned or damaged vehicles; 796 motorcycles were also confiscated in several parts of the industrial areas.

Director of Traffic Department in Riyadh Brig. Ali Al-Debkhi said the traffic authorities succeeded to launch inspection campaigns to clean up the streets and highways from damaged cars to facilitate the flow of vehicles.

“The traffic Department implemented a crackdown on car rental offices in Riyadh as a result of frequent violations, while the Traffic Department proved the names of car rental offices which violated the laws of the Ministry of Transportation,” Al-Debkhi added.

“We are working toward launching several campaigns in Riyadh and other provinces to raise the level of traffic control and to address irregularities that would affect the safety of road users, while traffic campaigns will not exclude any offense in the traffic system,” the official explained.

The municipality of Jeddah has also implemented a campaign that managed to remove 700 damaged cars in the city, with the majority of these abandoned cars found in residential areas such as Al-Ruwais, Al-Baghdadiyah.

 
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