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Traffic law clamp on Gulf nationals in Bahrain

MANAMA, February 12, 2015

Bahrain’s traffic officials are working with their GCC counterparts to prosecute Gulf nationals violating the new law, it has emerged.

Jumping a red light could result in a fine of up to BD500 ($1,317) and six months in jail under the new law, while anyone not wearing a seatbelt, driving recklessly or driving a vehicle without lights at night, among other things, risks a fine of up to BD100, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Even touching your phone while driving could lead to a fine of up to BD500.

The old law, which dated back 35 years, stipulated fines as low as BD5 or BD10 for speeding and driving under the influence.

Traffic Directorates across the GCC have been briefed on the new rules to ensure that drivers from neighbouring countries would not escape penalties.

"In order to make sure that GCC nationals visiting Bahrain do not break the new Traffic Law, we have met several times the leaders of traffic directorates across the GCC," said Traffic Culture Directorate acting director Major Osama Bahar.

"We also sent them letters to tell them there is a new law in Bahrain and explained that the fines have changed.

"Many of these countries also have traffic laws in review - Oman and the UAE both have newly implemented traffic laws and Saudi Arabia is studying one.

"We have this agreement between the GCC countries, so that a Bahraini committing a violation in Saudi Arabia or a Saudi committing a violation here will be prosecuted.

"There is also a campaign on the Saudi Causeway so that our Gulf brothers and sisters are informed."

He said that the number of traffic police out on Sunday, the first day the law was implemented, did not increase.

"We had the same number of police out on Sunday because we don't want to focus on violations, but there were very few," he said.

"The majority of people are following the new laws and the reactions have been good.

"The most important thing is people's safety."

Bahar revealed future plans for an operation centre to monitor all traffic cameras and record violations.

"We hope to soon have such an operation centre," he added.

"We have raised as much awareness as we can over the new law."

The GDN previously reported that running a red light will result in up to six months in jail or a fine of BD100 to BD500, which will be increased to BD1,000 to BD3,000 fine and/or three months to three years in jail if it results in an injury.

However, if the accident causes a fatality, it will carry a minimum six-month jail sentence and a fine of between BD2,000 and BD6,000.

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol will now result in a fine of BD500 to BD1,000 and/or a jail sentence of a month to a year.

If drunk driving causes an accident, it will result in a jail sentence of between two months and two years, and/or a BD1,000 to BD2,000 fine.

If the offence is repeated within a year, the penalty will be doubled.

Under the new law, exceeding speed limits could result in up to BD500 in fines or up to six months in jail.

However, if speeding results in an injury to someone or damage to public or private property, it carries a one-month sentence to three years and/or a fine of BD1,000, which can increase to BD2,000 in case of a fatality. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | GCC | Traffic | law |

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