Iraq's parliament moves traffic law overhaul toward second reading

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Parliamentary Legal Committee and Security and Defense Committee are preparing to advance proposed amendments to the traffic law to a second reading, following a joint review of the bill. Lawmaker Mohammed Jasim al-Haffafi, a member of the Legal Committee, told the official gazette that the meeting finalized a number of significant changes to the legislation. Under the proposed amendments, a rule that had doubled certain traffic fines would be scrapped, and penalty amounts would instead be reduced by 50 percent. At the same time, fines for dangerous violations such as driving against oncoming traffic would be increased, and stricter procedures would be introduced for issuing driver's licenses. The draft also permits vehicle windows to be tinted up to a specified limit, sets fines recorded by cameras and electronic monitoring devices at 50 percent of the original penalty, and extends the window for paying half the fine from three days to ten days. Additional provisions aim to prevent multiple camera-based fines or repeated penalties in the same lane for a single violation, and to bring vehicle sales contract offices within a formal legal framework. Al-Haffafi said the amendments are intended to produce a fairer traffic law that penalizes violations threatening public safety while reducing the financial burden on citizens.