Abandoned cars to be scrapped in just a month
Abandoned cars which previously would take up to a year before being scrapped would take only a month upon being served notice beginning next year. This will especially have great impact on local councils which has had to deal with overcrowded vehicle compound depots. Some local councils have even had to stop towing away vehicles since there is nowhere to store them.
"Currently, it takes the local councils between six and 12 months to scrap abandoned cars, including serving a notice and inter-agency cross-checking on vehicle ownership. It's too long and congesting the depots,” said transport minister Anthony Loke yesterday, as reported by The Sun.”
"I have asked for a new SOP to be established that will be the standard across the board for all councils and reduce the process to just a month,” referring to a new standard operating procedure to be drafted by the Public Complaints Bureau before presenting it at the next National Transportation Council (NTC) meeting in November.
The new SOP will give local councils full authority on the towing and scrapping of abandoned vehicles. There will also be a clear outline on the length of time needed before a car left idle can be considered to be abandoned.
"At the moment, there are no guidelines on how long a vehicle has to be idle (before deemed as abandoned). It can be two weeks, can be months. It depends on the efficiency of the local councils. Now want a standard guideline (sic)," the minister said.
