North implements driving ban on unregistered cars

The functioning of parallel structures in northern municipalities, not knowing Kosovo's laws, had influenced there to create chaos over the years even in traffic, when car registration is being questioned.

By applying new measures, citizens, but local authorities there also consider road safety to be on the rise.

Despot Tmashovic, says that after that decision, the effects are good. According to him, every car should be registered.

I now agree that unregistered cars will be stopped, but it would have to be given more time to people to decide what to do with those cars. Now they've parked cars and dare not move”, Tmaashovic said.

Gorani, another citizen from northern Mitrovica, has welcomed and supports the decision not to allow unregistered cars to roll.

I tell you this is a very good decision. This has been necessary for people, for the toll created”, Gorani said.

Likewise, another citizen from northern Mitrovica says the police decision has succeeded.

They say this decision is for the safety of all citizens so that this car is not in traffic without technical control, and I think in this respect it has succeeded”, she said.

On the other hand, the deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Besim Hoti, told Radio Free Europe that the decision to drive cars north of Kosovo is being fully respected.

When we talk about implementing this plan, we talk about positive results in the field because the presence of those vehicles (without signs) is greatly reduced. All those vehicles that are observed running around in the streets are stopped by police and followed by all procedures which are pre-lawed”, Hoti said.

Adrijana Hodzic, chief of the Northern Mitrovica municipal administration, told Radio Free Europe itself that the decision to prevent the flow of unregistered cars has provided greater security to citizens in the northern part of Kosovo.

There are far fewer cars on the streets of the northern Mitrovica municipality, and so has that huge road traffic. I believe it is a positive decision indeed. Today I can confirm that I've spent several times on the streets of northern Mitrovica, and I haven't noticed a car without signs of”, Hodzic said.

On the other hand, Besim Hoti said police are still working on the realisation of this plan, and as he said, until the removal of all unregistered cars the police will not stop by confiscated irregular cars.

Many technically irregular cars have been participants in road communications, even accidents, and have made fatal accidents. Besides there have been vehicles in circulation that have made public transportation of citizens, I mean car taxis, and even these cars have been carrying students to different schools and explaining this to the citizens, primarily to the parents that such actions are for the safety of the citizens, we have generally found support of”, Hoti explained.

Kosovo police have started implementing the operational plan on Monday this week. Such unregistered and customs vehicles have only been used in northern Kosovo over the past 20 years, and it has been estimated that their number is about 30% of the total number of vehicles.

The leaders of municipalities in northern Kosovo -- northern Mitrovica's Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviq, respectively -- have issued a joint statement through which they have supported the police's decision in the north to stop using vehicles that have no license plates and no security police.