On Monday, the former Minister of Transport, Jamil Mujahid, demanded the implementation of immediate and direct penalties to reduce accidents, stressing that it is not a requirement that they be material, because some are not deterred by the value of the violation.

He said that the government considers the reason for amending the traffic law to be the lack of commitment of some, stressing that the government did not take preventive measures that precede the amendment of the law.

He added that the government had primarily to deal with engineering and roads, and intensify awareness and guidance campaigns to create a safe traffic environment, and then apply the law and legislation.

He explained that some people are ignorant of the law and are not aware of the consequences of committing a violation, indicating that amending the law must be accompanied by education and training for road users.

For his part, the specialized lawyer, Adnan Al-Khashashneh, said that the reasons for amending the traffic law are official and popular, which call for harsher penalties to reduce traffic accidents.

He pointed out that the old law is 15 years old, and the number of vehicles and drivers has doubled over the past few years, in addition to the technological development and the use of social networking sites, which has become a phenomenon.
What is rumored about the purpose of amending the law is that it is a clear collection method, that the law will fall in the first examination it passes.

This came after the Council of Ministers approved a draft law amending the Traffic Law for the year 2023, as the most prominent amendments to the draft law included defining a traffic accident as an unintentional accident, while fabricated accidents are not considered traffic accidents for the purposes of the Traffic Law.

The amendments also included granting the authority to impound the vehicle for more than (48) hours, as the period of impoundment became from (24) hours to (30) days, according to the discretionary authority for the case and type of violation. It also gave the authority to the Director of Public Security to seize the vehicle for a period of two weeks, and specified the type of violations.

In the articles related to penalties, the penalties that were repeated with indifference were increased, including the use of a hand-held mobile phone, as the value of the violation became (50) dinars instead of (15) dinars, in addition to the violation of crossing the red light, as the violation became imprisonment from one to two months. And a fine ranging from (200) to (300) dinars, and in the event of recurrence during the year, the penalty will be doubled. A fine for the driver of a public vehicle is (10) dinars if he smokes while driving, and the same amount if his companions in the vehicle are allowed to smoke.

The project dealt with driving quickly, as the fine of driving at a high speed of more than (50) km from the speed limit became imprisonment from one to (3) months and a fine of (100) dinars, with the fine being doubled if the violation was repeated during the year.

The project dealt with the issue of processions that go on the roads during the celebrations, as the violation included a fine ranging from (50) to (100) dinars, after it was (30) dinars.