Tough new road law hits parliament
The government sends a new road law to parliament, proposing a points system for driver’s licenses and steep new fines.
Under the proposed scheme, new drivers will get a temporary driver’s license for two years. If they collect 12 points within that period, they lose the license and will be barred from applying for a new one for two years.
Once you get through the trial period, you can get a license for 5 years and worry that you could lose it once you accumulate 24 points. The license-for-life will be axed under the new law.
The number of punitive points that could cost you your license is based on the severity of a traffic violation. You can lose up to 6 points in one go, when you burn a red light, for example. Drunk driving and other serious violations mean that you will lose your license immediately. And pay a fine, of course.
The fines in the new law are twice as high as in the existing rules. They range from 700 dirham for “excessive use of a car horn” to 30,000 dirham for driving under the influence. That’s US$ 3,500, close to a working class annual income in Morocco.
Those traffic fines are already making waves among parliamentarians. They believe that the steep new sanctions will only encourage corruption.
Besides, some members of parliament argue, the government should not just be tough on drivers, but also work to increase road safety itself. They will ask the government to improve road conditions and traffic signs.
The law also proposes regular inspections of mechanical shops, finally acknowledging that despite the incredible ingenuity of the average car mechanic, many accidents on Moroccan roads are caused by the terrible state that a lot of cars are in.
Finally, driving schools will also be met with more scrutiny.
It all makes sense. But as newspaper Le Matin reports in its article about the new law, the discussion in parliament will be “tempestuous”.
- Here’s the concise Moroccan road survival guide from the Morocco FAQ
January 30th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
I can’t wait to hear bitching by Moroccans about this - even though they know it’s their own damn faults for not respecting the rules AT ALL.
I wonder how this will affect the police, though - will they be given a quota to fill rather than low pay which causes them to simply take bribes? Will they now do their job or will people just hand over a 200dh bank note to avoid the points?
April 29th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Not only enforsment is importent. the 3 big E’s ( Enforsment, Education and Enginering) most go together to succeed in the traffic saffety.
Mekki Koubia, Traffic Engineer.