Saudi’s Shoura Council is forging ahead with plans to scrap a controversial law that allows the government to double the traffic-related fines for motorists who fail to pay up in 30 days, it was reported.
Last month it emerged that a report by the Security Committee included a recommendation to amend Article 73 of the Kingdom’s traffic law to cancel the doubling of fines if they were not paid within the stipulated period of time.
Instead, it said fines should continue to increase commensurate with how much a motorist was speeding. Fines range from a minimum of $80 (SR300) to a maximum of $240 (SR900).
The report was then to be reviewed by the Shoura Council, which on Tuesday endorsed the recommendation, the Arab News said.
According to the English-language daily, members of the consultative body proposed various ways to tackle the issue, including a discount for those paying their fines within 30 days.
One member also wanted to scrap prison sentences for traffic violators, arguing that traffic offenders would mix with hardened criminals in prison and become worse offenders.
But a woman member opposed the idea and urged the traffic authorities not to show any leniency toward reckless drivers who endanger the lives of others.
Last month a study found Saudi’s atrocious road safety record could spiral to 4 million accidents a year by 2030 unless there is better discipline by motorists and enforcement of traffic laws.
It came amid predictions that a person will die on Saudi roads every hour in 2014 if the country’s accident rate continued at its current pace.
According to a study by Hany Hassan, assistant professor of transportation engineering at King Saud University, there were 600,000 crashes recorded in the Kingdom in 2012, resulting in the death of around 7,638 people.
On average there are 7,100 road fatalities every year with 38,000 people seriously injured, including seven percent permanently disabled.
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