The new traffic law does not target drivers

The Director of Roads and Logistics at the Ministry of Interior, Local Communities and Transport, Abdel-Ghani Hamani, confirmed that the harsher penalties in the new draft traffic law are limited to serious cases proven by investigation, such as drunk driving or drug use.

Hamani added, during his hosting on the first radio channel, that responsibility cannot be held except after investigating the causes of the accident, noting that the draft law was prepared within the framework of a specialized committee that included experts and specialists, during which a number of suggestions were included, stressing that the new traffic law does not target drivers 100 percent, but rather aims to reduce dangerous behaviors that pose a threat to traffic safety.

The same speaker added that among the most prominent features of the project, for the first time, is the expansion of legal accountability in accidents classified as serious to include the bodies in charge of completing and maintaining roads, in addition to importers of counterfeit spare parts, as they are factors that may contribute to the occurrence of traffic accidents.

In this context, the National Company for Marketing and Distribution of Petroleum Products “Naftal” issued a strong warning to the fuel and liquefied petroleum gas carriers contracting with it, asking them to resume supply operations immediately. Naftal issued an official statement, in which it confirmed that the carriers’ continued cessation of work may lead to the termination of their contracts and their prosecution.

This warning came after the carriers stopped supplying fuel depots and distributing petroleum products since last Wednesday, in a move that the company described as a clear breach of contractual obligations. Naftal indicated in an official correspondence addressed to the carriers that this sudden stop caused a major disruption in the performance of its basic mission of ensuring public service to citizens.

The company considered that the carriers’ refusal to carry out their obligations constitutes a clear violation of the terms of the contracts signed between them, stressing the necessity of their immediate return to carrying out their activities, and warned Naftal that it reserves its full right to terminate the transportation contracts, holding the carriers fully responsible for the consequences of this decision. The company did not limit itself to threatening to terminate the contracts, but also confirmed that it does not rule out resorting to the judiciary and taking civil and criminal measures against carriers who violate their obligations.