File photo used for representation only.
About 80 to 90 percent of traffic accidents are caused by the use of mobile phones while driving especially on highways, said an official from the General Directorate of Traffic.
“The fine for the driver using or holding a mobile phone or any other device in hand while driving or becoming busy watching any visual object from television set in the vehicle is QR500,” said Captain Mohammed Abdullah Al Kuwari, officer at the General Directorate of Traffic.
Speaking yesterday in a webinar on traffic law and rules, he called upon everyone for adherence to the traffic law, taking caution while driving around schools and residential areas and adherence to speed limits on the road, in order to preserve public safety.
Captain Al Kuwari also emphasized the importance of crossing the road at the designated areas, noting that “if pedestrians not crossing the road from the designated places, they may face fine of QR200.”
The event was organized by the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Interior in collaboration with the General Directorate of Traffic.
Over 200 people from HR, finance, safety, security, the public and private companies, schools, and the heads and representatives of expat communities attended the event.
The participants were introduced to the most common traffic violations and their impact on the security and safety of road users. Al Kuwari explained the difference between violations that can be reconciled and violations that cannot be reconciled and referred directly to the Public Prosecution. Among the violations which cannot be reconciled are driving a vehicle without obtaining a license, giving a vehicle to someone who does not have a driving license and violating customs and norms of public morality inside the vehicle, or allowing somebody to do it so, he said.
For the violations which can be reconciled and not referred to the Public Prosecution, Al Kuwari said they include not informing the licensing authority immediately about loss or damage of any one of both of the number plates, not carrying the driving license while driving or not producing it when asked by the police and driving a vehicle in the opposite direction.
