Summertime blues

Thousands of abandoned cars are towed, but how do you tell if the owner is just on holiday?

Motorists across the city have been handed hefty fines for not having their car washed after returning from holiday. Christopher Pike / The National

Anyone who lives in the UAE knows two certainties: that long holidays in the middle of summer are beneficial and that atmospheric dust can quickly make a clean car resemble a dusty old wreck. The combination of these two has prompted concern about the policy of towing seemingly abandoned cars from the streets of the capital.

As The National reported yesterday, Abu Dhabi Municipality has impounded about 3,000 cars, with a further 1,300 having been reported as abandoned. While there is no doubt many abandoned cars clog the streets, one has to wonder about the risk of cars being reported as abandoned when they are merely parked while their owners go on holiday.

Will technology provide the answer? Mawaqif can show if a car is still registered to be parked in an area, and maybe the owner ought to be warned via a series of SMSs to move or clean the car before it is towed? This could help prevent nasty summer surprises.