Many of the unclaimed vehicles have been ripped open for spare parts
The number of abandoned vehicles seen in open spaces in and around Doha is increasing with each passing day. There are new cars, recent models as well as cancelled and damaged vehicles in the lot. Many of them appear to be in surprisingly good condition. Some of them have been abandoned for several months or years, gauging by the thick coat of dust on them. A tour of Doha’s busy Bin Mahmoud area the other day, led to the discovery of some interesting facts too, regarding abandoned vehicles. One is the fact that some motorists continue to use cars for a number of years without bothering to renew the road permit or paying up fines. A sedan found in an open ground, filled with more than a dozen abandoned vehicles, had a road permit which expired in November 2006. But information from the Ministry of Interior website reveals that this car was on the roads at least until March 2010 and racked up unsettled fines totalling QR3,500. Motorists indulging in such negligence elude the authorities unless and until their vehicle meets with an accident or they get caught in a surprise check on the roads. A long-time Doha resident recalled that when his car got hit from behind by a sports car some years ago, the errant motorist insisted that he be allowed to repair the damage without reporting the matter to the police.But when he declined the offer and took the matter to the police, it was revealed that the other car’s road permit had expired and that the driver did not have a licence either. Gulf Times reported earlier this month that the number of abandoned vehicles around the Woqod Vehicles Inspection (Fahes) complex at Street 24 in the Industrial Area seems to have reached an all-time high. Vehicles discarded after accidents and those found unfit by Fahes can be found dumped all around the facility’s compound. Many of them have been ripped open by ‘scavengers’ in search of spare parts. Gauging by the thick layers of dust coating some of the vehicles, one gets the impression that they have been there for years. They range from four-wheelers to flatbeds, sports cars to pickups and school buses. Undated stickers by the Doha Municipality have been pasted on some vehicles, deeply buried under layers of dust, warning the owners to collect them within “three days of the notice” and with the message that the public cleaning section will be forced to follow the relevant law – Law 8 of 1974. As a matter of procedure, the public cleaning section at the Doha Municipality can only stick warning notices on abandoned vehicles. It is for the Traffic Department to tow them to the junkyard.
There are new cars, recent models as well as cancelled and damaged vehicles in the lot.
Many of them appear to be in surprisingly good condition. Some of them have been abandoned for several months or years, gauging by the thick coat of dust on them.
A tour of Doha’s busy Bin Mahmoud area the other day, led to the discovery of some interesting facts too, regarding abandoned vehicles.
One is the fact that some motorists continue to use cars for a number of years without bothering to renew the road permit or paying up fines. A sedan found in an open ground, filled with more than a dozen abandoned vehicles, had a road permit which expired in November 2006. But information from the Ministry of Interior website reveals that this car was on the roads at least until March 2010 and racked up unsettled fines totalling QR3,500.
Motorists indulging in such negligence elude the authorities unless and until their vehicle meets with an accident or they get caught in a surprise check on the roads.
A long-time Doha resident recalled that when his car got hit from behind by a sports car some years ago, the errant motorist insisted that he be allowed to repair the damage without reporting the matter to the police.But when he declined the offer and took the matter to the police, it was revealed that the other car’s road permit had expired and that the driver did not have a licence either. Gulf Times reported earlier this month that the number of abandoned vehicles around the Woqod Vehicles Inspection (Fahes) complex at Street 24 in the Industrial Area seems to have reached an all-time high.
Vehicles discarded after accidents and those found unfit by Fahes can be found dumped all around the facility’s compound. Many of them have been ripped open by ‘scavengers’ in search of spare parts. Gauging by the thick layers of dust coating some of the vehicles, one gets the impression that they have been there for years. They range from four-wheelers to flatbeds, sports cars to pickups and school buses.
Undated stickers by the Doha Municipality have been pasted on some vehicles, deeply buried under layers of dust, warning the owners to collect them within “three days of the notice” and with the message that the public cleaning section will be forced to follow the relevant law – Law 8 of 1974. As a matter of procedure, the public cleaning section at the Doha Municipality can only stick warning notices on abandoned vehicles. It is for the Traffic Department to tow them to the
junkyard.