What’s in this new law?

Prohibitions

• Drivers are prohibited from driving their vehicles under the influence of alcohol with a BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) greater than 0.5 grams per liter of blood
• Drivers are prohibited from using mobile phones while driving
• Drivers are prohibited from turning their engines off and steering their vehicles by pushing them down the slopes
• Drivers are prohibited from using horns except under certain circumstances

Vehicle equipment

Vehicles must be equipped with:

• An inside rear view mirror and two outside rear view mirrors on both sides of the vehicle
• Power-driven windshield wipers
• Front and back seatbelts
• First-aid kit for taxis
• Ready-to-use fire extinguisher
• Front and rear fenders
• Audible single-tone horn

Metered Taxis

Taxis should be provided with a meter that records and determines the fare the passenger should pay.

Elimination of motor number

The drivers will be subjected to three years in prison, seizure of their vehicle and a fine of LBP 20 million if they alter, eliminate, replace or efface motor or serial numbers.

Setting speed limit

In the case where no speed limit signs are installed on local, major and minor roads, drivers should respect the following speed limits:

• 100 km/h on highways
• 70 km/h outside populated areas
• 50 km/h inside populated areas

Transportation of children

• Children under 10 years of age are prohibited from sitting in the front seats
• Children under 5 years of age should be fastened properly into a special car seat placed in the vehicle’s back seat

Seatbelts

All passengers, including the driver, irrespective of the type of the vehicle, should use seatbelts. Only ISF members are exempt from wearing seatbelts while leading security missions.

Mechanical inspection

Tourist vehicles and motorcycles should undergo regular inspection once a year, after three years from the date they were put on the roads in Lebanon or abroad. All cars and vehicles are subject to a mechanical inspection carried out at any time by employees of the pertinent authority with the assistance of the Internal Security Forces to confirm compliance with the requested conditions.

Vehicle registration

Whoever delays in registering their vehicles will incur a fine of LBP 100 000 for every week of delay.

Driving license

Obtaining a driving license entails fulfillment of the following requirements:

• Applicant must be minimum of 18 years old
• Applicant must be living in Lebanon
• Applicant must have a medical certificate for driving
• Applicant must have a clean criminal record free of the deterring clauses set by the law
• Applicant must pass the needed training and receive a certificate from the respective driving school
• Applicant must pass the driving test

Private driving licenses are valid for 10 years for people under 48, 4 years for those under 64 and 2 for those who exceed the age of 64. The licenses are renewable without the need to sit the test again.

Public driving licenses are valid for 5 renewable years for people under 50, 3 years for those under 65 and 1 year for those over 65 years of age.

The driving license has 12 points that are subtracted depending on the offences committed by the driver as illustrated in the following table. Losing all points disqualifies the driver from driving and entails the revocation of his license for 6 months, during which he undergoes a specialized training at a driving school. Should this occur again within 3 years, the license is then revoked for one year and the driver will have to re-sit the driving test.

Driving Schools

No driving school can open in Beirut unless it is at least 100 m away from any other driving school within administrative Beirut. The distance grows to 250 m in other areas. All driving schools should have a minimum of 2 halls and 2 training vehicles.

Traffic fines’ revenues

The revenues resulting from collecting traffic fines are distributed as follows:

• 25% for the ISF (Internal Security Forces) reserve fund
• 20% for municipalities
• 55% for the treasury
• 30% of the fines collected from judicial proceedings go to the Judges’ Solidarity Fund and 25% for the cooperative fund for judicial assistants.
• ISF traffic policemen are given 30% of their basic monthly salaries and another 10% is channeled to motorcycle policemen.

Fees

The new traffic law has also determined the various fees due on vehicles. Those fees previously used to fall under the public budget law and are as follows:

• The registration fee of a private vehicle stands at 4% of its price
• The registration fee of a public vehicle stands at 2% of its price

Annual traffic fees

• If the car is 13 years of age, the annual traffic fee ranges between LBP 33 000 (for vehicles with 1 to 10 horsepower) and LBP 288 000 (for vehicles with 51 horsepower and above).
• If the car is 5 to 12 years of age, the annual traffic fee ranges between LBP 75 000 and LBP 715 000.
• If the car is 2 to 4 years of age, the annual traffic fee ranges between LBP 155 000 and LBP 1 500 000.
• If the car is less than 2 years old, the annual traffic fee ranges between LBP 325 000 and LBP 3 100 000.
• The driving test and license cost LBP 230 000.

Enforcement

In principle, the new Traffic Law should enter into effect the moment it is published in the Official Gazette (it was published on November 25, 2012). However, the enforcement of this law necessitates regulatory decisions that are yet to be issued. Given that the law has granted a one-year period for the issuance of these regulations, we probably won’t be seeing any of the law’s articles materialize on the ground before November 25, 2013.

Although it took 7 years to draft this law, voices have been raised, shortly after its approval, to amend it or delay its enforcement until all the pertinent requirements are available and the manpower responsible for its implementation is ready.

Should we expect strict implementation of this law or will it remain ink on paper?