There are thousands of derelict vehicles defacing the city and disturbing its residents. In addition, it is clogging up valuable parking spots that could be used by car owners.

On a tour of various parts of the city, Arab News saw scores of wrecked vehicles abandoned by their owners. There were cars dumped and permanently abandoned, in addition to cars temporarily abandoned due to a breakdown or technical glitch. Despite relentless efforts by the authorities to put an end to this phenomenon, the problem still lingers.

This is despite the fact that there is roaring business being done in Briman, where the graveyard for cars is located. If the papers are in order the owners can easily sell their damaged cars at a marginal price, and be rid of all headaches by getting clearance certificates from the police by submitting the number plates and the chassis numbers The cars are then broken down piecemeal with the spare parts from the junk providing a lucrative source of income for the “new owners.”

In a bid to find out the causes for the irresponsible conduct of many owners to abandon their vehicles in this way, Arab News met with officials of the concerned agencies and departments that are supposed to remove these vehicles from the streets. The municipality, in coordination with the police and traffic departments, is playing a major role in this regard. But for all their efforts, the eyesores dotting the city are growing.

Commenting on this problem, Lt. Col. Zaid Al-Hamzi, spokesman of the Traffic Department in Jeddah, told Arab News that his department had removed 2,836 such vehicles in 2011 alone.

Al-Hamzi said a committee is tasked with removing vehicles that have been abandoned for a long time. The committee, comprising representatives from the Jeddah municipality, police and the traffic department, has a working mechanism to remove abandoned vehicles under a time-bound plan, said the official.

According to the mechanism, a notification is made about a car’s imminent removal from the spot. At the same time, the police verify whether the vehicle is involved in any crime or security-related problem. Also the vehicles registration papers have to be updated prior to its disposal.

“After completion of this process, some more time is given to the owner to remove it. In the second phase, the vehicle is removed permanently from the site,” Al-Hamzi said.

Adul Aziz Al-Nahari, spokesman of the municipality, said the local authority is supposed to remove abandoned vehicles through the committee.

Even though the municipality is officially tasked to remove these abandoned vehicles, it is impossible for it to do so except through the committee.

He said the committee members locate such vehicles and place a sticker with the word “damaged” on it, asking its owner to remove it within two weeks. According to Al-Nahari, the number of abandoned vehicles is on the rise in the city.

Referring to the role of police, Brig. Gen. Misfar Al-Juaid, spokesman of Jeddah police, said their representative in the committee in coordination with members of the municipality and traffic department verify whether the vehicle is involved in any security-related problems.

“If we detect any such problems, the damaged vehicle is taken to our facility in coordination with the municipality. If there are not security problems involved, the vehicle is removed by the municipality,” he added.

He drew attention to the municipality’s demand that there should be another six committees to tackle the issue of abandoned vehicles, in addition to the existing tripartite committee. Some committees have already been formed and started functioning.

Al-Nahari noted that the municipality has concluded contract with a specialized company to remove these vehicles.

“The company, which would swing into action after the committee gave the go-ahead, would tow these vehicles and assemble them at a vacant spot outside the city for a period of more than three months. If the owners failed to take their vehicles during this period, the company would treat these vehicles as scrap metal and would sell them in a public auction to iron and steel companies either within the Kingdom or abroad,” he said, adding that this would be done, in coordination with the police, after ensuring that these vehicles were not involved in any security-related problems.

Al-Nahari said the municipality is currently removing about 30-60 abandoned vehicles in a week and 700-800 vehicles in a month.