Second hand vehicles: A death sentence for drivers in Kurdistan
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Sami Abdullah was on his way to visit a friend in a Soran hospital. Making a U-turn in front of his house, the engine seized up and overturned the vehicle. His memory of what happened next is vague.
"I pressed on the gas pedal hard, but it wouldn't go forward. It would only go backward. All I remember is that I was on my back," Abdullah told Rudaw.
However, in front of his house, while trying to make a U-turn, his car seized, flipping the car and giving Abdullah a near-death experience.
He has come back from the dead, he says. He has been in hospital for two weeks and has had a liver surgery.
He hopes the number of second-hand or salvaged vehicles imported into Iraq and the Kurdistan decreases and for fewer people to use them.
"They aren't safe. They stop working on the road," Sami added.
On May 2, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Interior issued a ministerial decree that bans the importing of cars damaged in accidents, repaired cars or cars that have been submerged under water, citing “public interests and to protect the soul and wealth of people”.
Car mechanics agree. They consider the low quality of cars, especially second hand cars imported through Dubai, as one of the main reasons for the high number of car accidents.
"The largest number is of those that are imported from abroad and are the bad kind. They are damaged or have been in an accident where they come from. We have to fix them," Khayri, a mechanic from Duhok, told Rudaw.
They are just put back together for importing, but they are still in bad condition, claimed the mechanic.
More than 500 cars are inspected daily at a PVI, Periodic Vehicle Inspection, a company that works with KRG.
Some cars, due to their low quality, don't pass the PVI test.
Tariq Ziyad, head of training at PVI, inspects the screws on the left front tire of a second hand car. He shows how the screws are not screwed well enough into their place.
"Upon the inspection of the colleagues, the tire screws are loose. They can be unscrewed with the mere hand. Who is at fault here in this case?" said Ziyad.
The local companies import "the worst of things" and don't fix the cars well before importing them, claimed Ziyad.
"A lot of times they enjoin the dynamo and airbag wires together. When the dynamo has charged the battery, it turns off. What else does it turn off with it? The airbag," revealed Ziyad, arguing people are being cheated.
Bad roads have also been a major issue in the rise of car accidents in the Region. (http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/28042019).
Car accidents are the second leading cause of death in the Kurdistan Region after natural causes. The deadly trend has been on the rise.
According to Ministry of Interior’s data, there have been 36,913 car accidents in the Region from 2010 to 2018. 6,509 individuals have lost their lives to the accidents, while 77,362 individuals have been injured.
Moreover, in the first three months of 2019, 120 people have been killed and 1,060 injured in 940 car accidents across the Region.
According to figures produced by the Transportation Directorate, there were more than 1,469,000 cars in the Kurdistan Region by the end of 2017, excluding military vehicles.
"I pressed on the gas pedal hard, but it wouldn't go forward. It would only go backward. All I remember is that I was on my back," Abdullah told Rudaw.
However, in front of his house, while trying to make a U-turn, his car seized, flipping the car and giving Abdullah a near-death experience.
He has come back from the dead, he says. He has been in hospital for two weeks and has had a liver surgery.
He hopes the number of second-hand or salvaged vehicles imported into Iraq and the Kurdistan decreases and for fewer people to use them.
"They aren't safe. They stop working on the road," Sami added.
On May 2, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Interior issued a ministerial decree that bans the importing of cars damaged in accidents, repaired cars or cars that have been submerged under water, citing “public interests and to protect the soul and wealth of people”.
Car mechanics agree. They consider the low quality of cars, especially second hand cars imported through Dubai, as one of the main reasons for the high number of car accidents.
"The largest number is of those that are imported from abroad and are the bad kind. They are damaged or have been in an accident where they come from. We have to fix them," Khayri, a mechanic from Duhok, told Rudaw.
They are just put back together for importing, but they are still in bad condition, claimed the mechanic.
More than 500 cars are inspected daily at a PVI, Periodic Vehicle Inspection, a company that works with KRG.
Some cars, due to their low quality, don't pass the PVI test.
Tariq Ziyad, head of training at PVI, inspects the screws on the left front tire of a second hand car. He shows how the screws are not screwed well enough into their place.
"Upon the inspection of the colleagues, the tire screws are loose. They can be unscrewed with the mere hand. Who is at fault here in this case?" said Ziyad.
The local companies import "the worst of things" and don't fix the cars well before importing them, claimed Ziyad.
"A lot of times they enjoin the dynamo and airbag wires together. When the dynamo has charged the battery, it turns off. What else does it turn off with it? The airbag," revealed Ziyad, arguing people are being cheated.
Bad roads have also been a major issue in the rise of car accidents in the Region. (http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/28042019).
Car accidents are the second leading cause of death in the Kurdistan Region after natural causes. The deadly trend has been on the rise.
According to Ministry of Interior’s data, there have been 36,913 car accidents in the Region from 2010 to 2018. 6,509 individuals have lost their lives to the accidents, while 77,362 individuals have been injured.
In the first five months of 2018 there had been 1,577 car accidents, killing 235 people and injuring 2,508.
Moreover, in the first three months of 2019, 120 people have been killed and 1,060 injured in 940 car accidents across the Region.
According to figures produced by the Transportation Directorate, there were more than 1,469,000 cars in the Kurdistan Region by the end of 2017, excluding military vehicles.
The recent wave of rain that has continued into May in the Region has made already poor roads deteriorate further. With the pumping of budget from Iraq into the Region, repairs on roads have started.
The KRG prepared a 20-year master plan in 2010 to convert major roads into divided highways. Economic crisis derailed that.
Reporting by Farhad Dolamari