I think we all agree that Lebanon needs a new traffic law and I’m glad that the authorities finally managed to draft a new modern traffic law but the question remains whether they will be able to implement it or not? I followed closely Kalamennas‘ episode last week, listened to what Gen. Joseph Msallem (head of public relations division in the Internal Security Forces) and Marcel Ghanem had to say and all I can say is that law enforcement officers need to figure out a way to gain people’s trust while spreading awareness on the new traffic law.
If the aim of the new traffic law is to fine people, then things will only get worse and people will find a way (wasta) not to pay the fines. If not, then the ISF should develop a strategy to 1) spread awareness on the new traffic law without fines 2) serve as role models and 3) gain people’s trust and encourage them not to break the law. Two days ago, I spotted four police officers breaking the law on my way from Jounieh to Achrafieh. One of them wasn’t wearing a seat-belt, the other wasn’t wearing a helmet on his bike, and the 2 others were driving recklessly and cutting off people. If some police officers are incapable of respecting the law and are not being fined or reprimanded, then things will never work out even if this new law is the one of the most modern ones in the world.
On another note, you need a proper infrastructure and decent roads to properly implement the new traffic law, which is not the case. Our roads are terrible and barely lit, traffic lights (if present) are not working everywhere, road works are lousy and hazardous, potholes are everywhere etc. Of course this is not an excuse not to have a new traffic law but the absence of any initiative to fix all these small issues endangering people’s lives makes us wonder if the government is serious about this new law or they’re just doing it to collect more money from the Lebanese.
Speaking of violations and fines, I summed up some of the technical details that were mentioned on LBCI in order to give you an idea about the new law. If you are interested in reading the whole 177-pages long law, you can find it [here].
All in all, we do need severe offences to stop traffic violations but we also need competent and trustworthy law enforcement officers to do the job, and we need the law to be implemented in all regions and on all individuals without any exception.
PS: The fines are so high in this new traffic law that one blogger thought of introducing the Lebanese driving ticket loan.
In addition to the above violations, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or exceeding the speed limit will be also be punishable by law. The fines will be determined based on the severity of the violation.
thank you for sharing the price list!
Will the format of the current driving exam change? I find it quite absurd that we have to drive a manual car to get a licence.
Thank you for sharing the details of the new law. i have heard so much about it and your post sums it up at best. I agree with you and I hope that “wasta” will not be applicable anymore. Most importantly i have witnessed police officers driving recklessly and sometimes endangering the rest of us. Hopefully they will investigate and look more closely at their own officers driving skills. and last but not least, lebanese will embrace and abide by the law fully! Thank you!!
Is it still punishable to hit someone even if that person was crossing a highway? Or that case does not have to do with the new traffic law? (Or is this even a myth/misconception that me and most lebanese believe? )
From what I know, it’s not your fault if you drive into a person as long as you are within 100m (or something like that) of a pedestrian bridge, but then again, I could be wrong.
I actually know a person who hit an old guy passing on the highway, and he (the former) got into a lot of trouble.
I know someone whose car was HIT by a guy doing stunts on a bike, who wasn’t wearing a helmet and had no registration papers. The guy on the bike went into a coma and the car’s owner was sent to jail.
Also someone else I know hit a person crossing the highway under a pedestrian bridge. The latter had minor injuries and went to the hospital, meanwhile the driver’s car was confiscated and he had to wait till the injured dropped all charges.
So definitely not a myth/misconception. Hoping the new traffic law fixes that.
it is not a myth i assure you!
even if you hit someone under a crossing bridge
thanks for the post
a person crossing a highway should be illegal whether its 100m away from the pedestrian bridge or not (there are not enough pedestrian bridges to begin with) , its not our fault if we hit him or not, since MOST of the highways are not lit
“pedestrians who don’t respect crosswalks”: there are no crosswalks whatsoever
they tell us its for our safety, well dark roads with path holes has nothing to do with safety
this law needs a proper infrastructure to be implemented on or else its useless
European standard law cant be implemented on Lebanese roads
I am definitely all for walking on the sidewalk but it’s so hard to find one without motorcycles or cars parked on them. Sometimes to avoid letting people Park they put those flower pots and the sidewalk is too small so u have to walk on the road in that case or start jumping over plants! Even sometimes when there’s a construction happening or “7afriyet” they take the sidewalks as part of what they are working on and this is for like a year or more so until the building is done – maybe this is fine since it’s safer not to walk on this side but even before the constructions starts they take it..
What about scooter? Arent they classified as something other than motorcycles. Will the delivery men have to wear helmets, not go down accessuers, etc?
Thank you for the information! it is really sad to witness how our goverment is introducing a new law! Awareness campaigns should be done and massively.
The other point of deception is that we all would like to abide by the laws and we want to have laws protecting us, but what I see is a list of punishements with nothing behind it! I want to pay fines if I behave against the law but I want the goverment to be responsible of what it should be providing! I wish all Lebanese would just come together and stand up for their rights.
The law mentions driving on the right lane if the speed in less then the required one , trucks should be driving on the right lane,people should drive between the marked lines….it is what we want! but who is going to help implementing? and for how long?do we have the necessary infrastructure?
The law should be done in a consistent manner that will impact change of behavior, unfortunatly I dont expect this to happen….