New law cuts fines for more categories of traffic offences

A new law issued yesterday, allows prosecutors to reduce fines by half for more categories of traffic offences, under the condition that the offenders pay them within seven days of committing the violation. This came as His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday issued Law 37 of 2018, stipulating to amend some provisions of Law 23 of 2014, also known as the Traffic Law.

The amendment of Articles 56 and 58 in the law now allows the reduction of fines for more traffic crimes. This includes offences related to vehicles’ number plates, such as driving without plates, deliberately faking them, defacing them, fixing them on other vehicles without permission or allowing others to use them on their vehicles.

The fine for these crimes is between BD200 and BD500 if committed for the first time, and the law grants the prosecutors the jurisdiction to double the amount if the offence is repeated within less than a year.

After the new amendment was endorsed by HM the King, violators need to pay BD100-BD250, if they pay within the first week after committing the crime. The violators could also face a jail term of between one and five months.