Abu Dhabi: Nearly 70,000 heavy vehicles in Abu Dhabi will now be subjected to rigorous inspections during annual registration tests, officials said on Monday.

The inspections will be guided by the new Heavy Vehicle Annual Test Manual, which was launched on Monday by the emirate’s transport sector regulator Department of Transport (DoT).

The new standards manual aims to curb fatal accidents and injuries caused by unsafe buses and lorries. Therefore, certain defects that could have slipped through inspections in the past, such as missing seat belts, malfunctioning brakes, chassis cracks and steering connection faults, will now be picked up during more rigorous annual vehicle checks.

“Numerous safety faults that are commonly detected when heavy vehicles come in for their annual tests have been identified, and these will be pointed out as the standards of the manual are implemented at testing centres,” said Ahmad Al Hammadi, acting director of the DoT’s Freight Division.

The UAE has seen a number of accidents involving heavy vehicles over the years and statistics compiled by Gulf News in May 2014 indicate that more than 220 people have been killed in such incidents during a 15-year period. The majority of victims tend to be Asians travelling to and from work. In one of the deadliest tragedies that took place in Abu Dhabi in 2013, a truck transporting sand and stone swerved suddenly and collided with a bus, killing 24 people.

The new DoT manual provides minimum standards that heavy vehicles must meet in order to be re-registered each year by the Abu Dhabi Police. Earlier this year, officials revealed that nearly 60 per cent of heavy vehicles fail the inspections at first visit, with 82 per cent having defective lights, 60 per cent sporting defective brakes and 57 per cent using unsafe tyres.

“We hope that the new manual, and awareness about the new standards, will mean that two-thirds of heavy vehicles will pass the test at the first attempt,” said Jonathan James, head of freight policy at the DoT.

The yearly registration tests take at least five minutes, or longer if the vehicle is bigger, and they are currently conducted at nine centres across the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Officials added that they were looking into employing and training private entities to offer the tests if required.

If a vehicle fails the test, it is given a 30-day period to undergo maintenance and take a repeat test. Certain major defects to the chassis can, however, lead to a vehicle’s licence being permanently cancelled.

Abu Dhabi Police officials are also being trained to detect hazardous defects in heavy vehicles on the road.

“It is not possible to conduct a full test at the roadside, but they will be able to spot faults that could pose a big risk to other road users. Such vehicles, whether they are registered in Abu Dhabi or passing through the emirate, will be stopped and inspected before they are allowed to operate again,” James told Gulf News.