Kuwait deported 74 expats last year after they violated the country’s traffic law as part of stringent penalties to boost road safety, according to a security official.
Brig. Mohammed Al Subhan said the deportees’ violations were either driving a car without a licence or committing serious infringements.
He told Kuwait TV that the total violations of seat belts and using the phone by hand at the wheel reached 61,553 last year.
The official added that recent amendments to the Kuwait traffic law came due to the rise in accidents, violations and deaths.
The Ministry of Interior in Kuwait, a country of 4.7 million, records between 200 and 300 traffic accidents per day, resulting in 28 to 30 injuries, according to Brig. Al Subhan.
Some 90% of accidents are caused by inattention while driving.
Traffic accidents in Kuwait resulted last year in 284 deaths against 296 in 2023, according to official figures.
New traffic law
The fatalities included 11 children under the age of 14.
Kuwait is set to enforce in April a new traffic law that incorporates stringent penalties and hefty fines aimed at curbing reckless driving and enhancing road safety, replacing a traffic law that went into effect in 1976.
Under the new law, the fine for using a mobile phone while driving increases from KD5 ($16.2) to KD75, while the penalty for not wearing a seat belt triples to KD30. The fine for reckless driving has raised significantly from KD30 to KD150.
The penalty for driving past a red light is toughened from a misdemeanor to a felony. This offence is punishable by up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of KD1,000.
Officials have repeatedly emphasized that the new traffic law is necessary to reduce serious violations, as traffic accidents are seen as the second major cause of death in Kuwait after heart disease.
