Manama: Traffic authorities in Kuwait said they will remain committed to taking strong action against dangerous offences if the current drive to impound vehicles for some violations is found to be unconstitutional.
The authorities this month started impounding vehicles for months when drivers fail to wear seat belts, talk on hand-held cell phones while driving or park on pavements and no-parking zones.
Some lawmakers and lawyers criticised the move, insisting the penalty for traffic offences should be implemented gradually, and threatened to take legal action.
However, traffic authorities said they would not back down from their drive to make Kuwait’s roads safer for everyone and to hold irresponsible drivers responsible.
“We will naturally respect the decision of the competent authorities if they find that the current decision to impound vehicles is illegal or unconstitutional,” traffic sources told Kuwaiti daily Al Rai. “However, we will not hesitate to proceed to issue any resolution or legislation to stop flagrant violations and dangerous offences on our roads, and will not allow any disregard for human life.”
The sources added the main objective of the decision to impound vehicles was to save lives and that the interior ministry would embrace any legal or constitutional move to protect people.
“The ministry has been listening to the views expressed by lawmakers and common citizens, both supporting and criticising the issue. What really matters is that people become used to respecting laws,” the sources said.
Despite strenuous efforts by traffic authorities to instill a better driving culture and bring down an infamous world ranking in accident averages, official figures indicate that the task remains formidable.
Traffic figures show that 917,447 accidents have occurred since 2012. There were 86,271 accidents in 2012; 89,527 in 2013; 99,047 in 2014; 77,961 in 2015; and 71,582 in 2016. The figure was 23,529 in the first four months of this year.
Deaths by accident in 2012 were at 454, going down to 445 in 2013, but increasing to 461 in 2014. In 2015, there were 429 deaths while the figure was 153 up to April 2017.
Jumping red lights, speeding and the use of mobiles topped the causes of the accidents that occurred in 2017.
Recklessness and lack of responsible behaviour were also cited among the major causes of road crashes.
According to the National Traffic Strategy, the money spent by Kuwait to deal with accidents represents around 6 per cent of its annual gross domestic product.
More than 25,000 Kuwaitis, mostly relatives of those involved in accidents, are affected every year, the strategy prepared by an international expert said.
