Clampdown on unlicensed vehicles

Around 18,000 vehicles without a valid road licence risk being clamped from Wednesday onwards as the authorities embark on a major drive to collect long-overdue arrears.

Defaulters will have to fork out Lm35 to unclamp their vehicle, as well as an administration fee of Lm15 and settle their backlog of unpaid road licences to get their vehicle back.

Local Councils Association president Ian Micallef told The Sunday Times that wardens would initially focus on vehicles whose licence expired over a year ago.

"We have enough equipment to clamp 50 vehicles a day," Dr Micallef warned. New software has been tested to enable wardens to identify unlicensed vehicles on the spot.

Despite stern warnings by the authorities, and stricter enforcement by wardens, traffic offences more than doubled in the space of a year. Local councils are now owed Lm2.9 million in unpaid fines.

According to the law, drivers are not permitted to renew their road licence unless they settle past fines. But this has prompted a number of motorists to leave their vehicle unlicensed.

The Malta Transport Authority recently wrote to the registered owners of unlicensed vehicles (an estimated 18,000) urging them to come into line. Many ignored the warning, though some agreed to pay their arrears in instalments.

Arrangements are also being made to empower wardens to start clamping vehicles whose owners owe more than Lm100 in fines.

Dr Micallef said wardens were now also using new software which would enable them to test vehicles for emissions on the spot.

A mobile text message campaign launched by the ADT last year, which enabled motorists to report vehicles spewing exhaust fumes, has turned out to be a success.