Exemptions for disabled under new road safety rules

Energy Wednesday 21/February/2018 21:55 PM
By: Times News Service
Exemptions for disabled under new road safety rules

Muscat: People with disabilities have been exempted from certain road safety regulations. According to Article 19 of the Road safety regulations, “People with disabilities are exempt from the registration fees, examination, renewal, and transferring of car licence, once a year.”
The conditions under which disabled individuals are exempt include that their monthly salary should not be above OMR350, as proved by an official document issued by the competent authorities.
Marhoon Al Ghafri, a member of the administration council at the Omani Association for the Disabled, said, “We welcome this exemption for people with special needs. Disabled people have many expenses to worry about, as much of their equipment is expensive.”
In addition, the vehicle used by disabled persons shall be subject to a technical inspection at the first registration to see whether it is equipped with special equipment. This is not the ROP’s first move towards helping the disabled community. It has also increased the fine for parking in a spot for the disabled from OMR10 to OMR50.
“It is great to see that this rule has already been implemented,” Al Ghafri said.
Some residents, however, said the increase was slightly extreme. An expat said: “Sometimes, the disabled signs are not very clear. I have at times parked in a parking spot only to realise it was a parking place for the disabled.” Others raised the issue of a lack of available parking spaces.
Nonetheless, Ali, who is in a wheelchair, said: “There should be no excuse to take over a disabled person’s parking spot.”