Clampdown on unlicensed vehicles

The Malta Transport Authority is clamping down on 20,000 vehicles that have not been covered by a road licence for a number of years.

A letter has been sent to the registered owners of these unlicensed vehicles informing them that their vehicle's road licence expired long ago and urging them to settle any outstanding road licence fees and fines.

Failure to comply, within seven days of receipt of this letter, will result in the towing away or clamping of the vehicle in question.

Legal Notice 405 of 2003 gives the Commissioner of Police and/or the local council (through its wardens) the right to remove any vehicle with a road licence that has expired by more than three months.

The confiscated vehicle cannot be retrieved by the registered owner unless all road licence arrears, citations and towing/clamping fees are fully paid.

Registered owners who have their vehicle removed to be scrapped are liable to a fine of Lm500.

Owners who have their vehicles clamped will first be required to pay the fine and outstanding arrears prior to claiming their vehicle.

In January last year, the ADT had carried out a similar exercise in a bid to regularise some 24,000 unlicensed motor vehicles. Registered owners were given six months to regularise their position and could avail themselves of amnesties and reductions on the arrears.

Registered owners who received this letter are urged to contact the directorate immediately by phone or by calling personally at the directorate's offices.

The public, on the other hand, is urged to officially inform the directorate about any scrapping, garaging or transferring of a motorised vehicle and to fill in any relevant documents.