Abu Dhabi Police to impound noisy cars

Motorists who modify their engines to boost noise and power will soon face fines of Dh900 and have their vehicles impounded if they are found driving them on public roads.

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The National staff

ABU DHABI // Motorists who modify their engines to boost noise and power will soon face fines of Dh900 and have their vehicles impounded if they are found driving them on public roads, Abu Dhabi Police announced yesterday.

An awareness campaign aimed at young motorists will highlight the dangers of carrying out modifications before the citations are introduced on June 10.

Offenders will be fined Dh400 for carrying out unlicensed modifications and Dh500 for driving a vehicle that causes high noise. Vehicles will be impounded for one month.

"Those types of vehicles and motorcycles are forbidden by law from riding on inner roads, highways and residential areas," said Brig Gen Hussein Al Harthi, the head of the Traffic and Patrols Directorate.

"They can only be used in designated leisure areas and authorised circuits. And they must be towed - and under no pretext driven on a public road - all the way to those areas."

Gen Al Harthi said the grace period until June 10 would give motorists enough time to find alternative ways to transport their modified vehicles.

"Part of the danger of these modified vehicles lies in their potential to cause extremely serious accidents leading to death and severe injuries due to their excessive speed and power," said Gen Al Harthi.

"They also make a lot of noise, cause disturbance and pollution, and create confusion for other motorists and pedestrians. Added to that, they send across a bad image that is at odds with the level of development, modernisation and rule of law that our nation has reached."

Those youngsters who "mess with the mechanics of their vehicles" just for the sake of showing off were, he said, seeking out "a shortcut to death and disability-inducing injuries".

In March, Sharjah Police announced they would be permanently confiscating noisy and modified vehicles.