The decision on vehicles more than 10 years old from outside Bahrain not being allowed into the country deserves applause.
This will surely have a positive effect on not only limiting the increasing number of vehicles but also on their technical aspects and road safety.
I am sure there will be other decisions that would limit the lifespan of vehicles already on Bahrain’s roads, many of which do not meet the basic safety requirements.
The government is making every effort to improve and develop infrastructure by building new roads and bridges to accommodate more vehicles but I can see major hurdles ahead because Bahrain is rapidly running out of space.
The only solution, therefore, is to somehow limit vehicle numbers.
Figures show that at the end of 2021, there were 761,982 registered vehicles, a very large number that does not reflect Bahrain’s population of 1,504,365.
We have noticed over the last few months many non-Bahrainis are buying cars at very low prices that do not meet basic safety standards to help them in their work.
While this increases their monthly income, the fact is that all of that money is repatriated to their home countries with no benefit to Bahrain. According to official statistics, a total of BD462 million was transacted this way in the first half of last year.
Experts in the field of road safety say the development of vehicle safety systems is rather slow ever since modern safety standards for vehicles began in 1958, when the United Nations established the Global Forum for the Co-ordination of Systems Related to Vehicles.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has now established a set of international standards for vehicle safety, including lights, gauges, brakes, brake systems, and the ability of a vehicle to protect its occupants.
I hope a quick decision will be issued to determine the lifespan of vehicles to achieve the public interest and be a reason for solving traffic jams that we suffer from.
Zuhair A Tawfiqi
&uuid=(email))