KUWAIT: Acting Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah affirmed on Wednesday the importance of dealing with reckless drivers firmly and traffic congestions promptly to ensure everyone’s safety, as the new academic year starts next week. A statement released by the ministry’s public relations and media security department said Sheikh Talal headed a security meeting with Undersecretary Lt Gen Anwar Al-Barjas to follow up on the ministry’s readiness to handle traffic congestions during school hours.

Sheikh Talal stressed the importance of police presence on all roads and intersections that lead to schools in residential areas to help reduce traffic jams and eliminate illegal parking in front of schools. He also ordered to boost security and traffic awareness campaigns to provide parents and drivers with all the necessary information needed to avoid bad behaviors by motorists that can affect the safety of other drivers.

Meanwhile, the traffic department has confirmed that the implementation of ministerial decision 270/2020, which calls for the revocation of expatriate driving licenses for those who do not meet the required conditions, is still in effect. The department has been diligently monitoring compliance on a daily basis, adding 3,500 licenses were permanently revoked in the first half of 2023.

Additionally, the department said 14,000 licenses of citizens have been temporarily suspended for various reasons, including administrative issues, medical concerns, military obligations and exceeding the maximum penalty points. The department emphasized that the deportation of expatriates who violate traffic regulations and commit serious infractions is occurring at a significant rate due to ongoing enforcement campaigns and road monitoring.

It stressed that there are no exceptions or leniencies in this regard. Furthermore, the traffic department noted that nearly 19,000 expatriates were deported by the end of August for offenses such as speeding, running red lights, illegally ferrying passengers, driving in the wrong direction and driving without a valid license. It also reported that the total number of traffic violations committed by both Kuwaiti and expat motorists amounts to nearly 3 million, with two-thirds of these violations classified as indirect.