Egypt’s new traffic law: Harsher fines

Egypt’s new traffic law: Harsher fines

Parliament recently approved new amendments to Traffic Law 66/1972 proposed by the government.

According to a report issued by the parliament's Transport Committee, the new amendments aim to support the smart transport system which President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi urged officials to adopt in June 2020.

The amendments aim to reduce car accidents, improve road quality, and cut fuel consumption and pollution, the report said. It added that it would help traffic authorities impose automatic control on the movement of vehicles on all kinds of roads.

The newly-amended law includes stricter penalties for traffic violations in addition to adopting a new framework, a point system, to be applied for the first time on Egypt's streets.

Major General Yehia Al-Kedwani, a member of parliament's Defence and National Security Committee, told MBC Masr TV that the new law would not be implemented until after the president's ratification in two to three years and its publishing in the official gazette.

"The streets lack the needed infrastructure that would help in applying the laws,“ Al-Kedwani said, pointing out that 14 government ministries "are working to prepare for the actual implementation of the law during this two-to-three-year transitional period“.

Only annual fees on vehicle licensing will be