Shura Council pushes for longer jail terms and heftier fines following rise in road accidents

TDT | Manama

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Jail terms and fines for dangerous driving are set to increase under Decree-Law No. 30 of 2025.

The move comes in response to a rise in serious road accidents across the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Shura Council’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee has urged lawmakers to approve the decree when they meet on Sunday, emphasising the need for stricter penalties to enhance road safety.

In its report, the committee said police data and field evidence show more deadly and high-harm collisions in recent years, with heavy loss of life and damage.

Punishments

It argued that the Traffic Law in force since 2014 has not done enough to stop the worst offences, because punishments have not been strong enough and some risky acts have slipped through gaps in the text.

The decree-law, issued on 19 August 2025 during the parliamentary break, rewrites a large run of articles in the Traffic Law and adds new ones.

The committee said the update comes after more than ten years of growth in housing, population and traffic, leaving Bahrain’s roads busier and the old rules less able to deal with what drivers now face.

Among the main changes are longer jail terms and higher fines for major offences, especially when a driver’s error leads to death or injury.

The committee said tougher fines are meant to bite early, pushing drivers to stick to the rules before risky behaviour turns into something far worse.

The report says the law targets a set of practices it describes as more common on Bahrain’s roads, including extreme speeding, overtaking where it is banned, driving against traffic, and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.