Manama: Traffic police in the area of Hawalli in Kuwait have set a record by booking 995 drivers and motorcycle riders in a one-day campaign to fight chaos on the roads.

“A large team of traffic policemen was deployed in the area to check the extent of discipline and compliance with the law on the roads,” security sources told local daily Al Rai.

“The policemen detained 20 people and impounded their cars. Among them, there were five people who did not have a driving licence, seven who were utterly reckless in their driving, three who staged a race and five who did not have licences to ride their motorcycles,” the sources said.

According to the figures he revealed, 23 cars and five motorbikes were impounded in the crackdown conducted on Friday.

Lesser violations included uninsured vehicles, tinted windows, not wearing security belts and parking in areas for people with special needs, the sources said.

Traffic officers in Kuwait have been actively engaged in relentless campaigns to restore order in a sector plagued by a high toll of accident fatalities, reckless driving and non-compliance with administrative procedures.

Foreigners who repeatedly broke the law have been deported for endangering lives while citizens have been deprived of their vehicles or licences.

Abdul Fattah Al Aali, assistant undersecretary for traffic and the force behind the campaigns, who had come under attack, mainly from the opposition, for his strong approach towards foreign drivers who commit several traffic offences, said that the trend to end the chaos and impose road discipline would continue.

“I am not an abusive person, but I do apply the law and assume my responsibilities to save lives and protect people from reckless drivers,” he said. “The expatriates who do not respect the law should be sent home. We will deport the irresponsible expatriates who do not respect the laws of the country,” he said. “We have also extended the vehicle impounding period from two to four months and drivers can now be held for 48 hours for the sake of the investigation and the normal procedures.”

The crackdown led the authorities to discover that 20,000 forged driving licences had been issued since 2010.

“We have withdrawn 7,000 forged licences, and we are working on tracking down and cancelling all the others,” Al Aali has said.

He added that expatriates summoned to the traffic directorate should come forth and hand their licences, assuring them that there would be “no questions asked”.

However, those who fail to show up to hand back the licences will face forgery charges and will be deported, he said.