Presented before the Committee on Equipment and Local Development of the Council of the Nation, the draft law on the road traffic code reflects the State’s determination to strengthen prevention, road safety and the protection of citizens’ lives. This was stated yesterday by Saïd Sayoud, Minister of the Interior, Local Authorities and Transport.
Yahia Charef, president of the Committee on Equipment and Local Development of the Council of the Nation, said that “this piece of legislation is among the most decisive texts governing the daily lives of citizens, insofar as it regulates road traffic and ensures the protection of people and property.” He added during this session, devoted to examining the legislative texts adopted by the People’s National Assembly with a view to enriching them and giving them final approval, that “compliance with the road traffic code is a concrete manifestation of civic-mindedness and directly contributes to reducing traffic accidents, which remain among the main causes of death worldwide.”
The committee president also underlined the seriousness of the national situation in terms of road safety, noting that “road accidents have become a major concern in our country, which now makes it necessary to revise and update the legal framework governing road traffic, strengthen prevention mechanisms, and consolidate the institutional framework dedicated to road safety, in line with citizens’ expectations and needs.”
Taking the floor to present and defend the new text, Mr. Sayoud stated that “this draft law is one of the direct legislative translations of the strategic guidelines of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, regarding the protection of citizens, the preservation of public and private property, and the strengthening of measures and procedures likely to put an end to the phenomenon of road insecurity and to establish a safe traffic environment.”
The minister stressed that road accidents constitute a multidimensional scourge, highlighting their dramatic impact on families, their heavy human toll and the considerable economic losses they cause for the national community and the public treasury. He argued that this situation requires a comprehensive approach, going beyond a purely repressive logic to incorporate prevention, accountability and the modernization of control tools.
Mr. Sayoud indicated that the draft law on the road traffic code is based on an in‑depth legal structure, specifying that “it has been drawn up in ten chapters comprising 190 articles,” which reflects the scope and complexity of the issues addressed. He explained that “this text carries a comprehensive and balanced vision aimed at building a safe and sustainable traffic system, based on prevention, deterrence and coordination among all the stakeholders concerned, while ensuring the protection of citizens and their fundamental right to safe mobility.”
In this respect, the draft introduces new provisions allowing adaptation to the rapid developments observed at the international level, particularly in terms of technologies, modes of transport and emerging risks affecting road safety.
——-Prevention, training and professional driving
The minister also stressed that the new road traffic code enshrines a fundamental principle, namely: “Road safety is a shared responsibility.” He thus highlighted the importance attached to the safety of the driver, the vehicle and the road infrastructure, while affirming that “the draft enshrines the criminal and civil liability of all parties involved in the event of a breach of traffic rules.”
In this context, the road code explicitly provides for the civil liability of bodies responsible for the construction, development and maintenance of roads when accidents occur as a result of work that does not comply with technical standards or as a result of failures in their execution. The various parties concerned will therefore be required to bear compensation for material damage affecting the road, its equipment and its appurtenances.
The text also broadens the scope of liability to fraudulent practices, in particular the falsification of technical inspection reports, the issuing of driving licences through favoritism or in violation of the rules in force, as well as serious shortcomings in the maintenance of road infrastructure. In this regard, it criminalizes the issuing of technical inspection reports that omit identified faults or contain materially inaccurate information.
The draft road traffic code law strengthens the requirements related to the driving licence, with mandatory training, regular medical examinations and anti‑drug measures to guarantee the physical and mental fitness of drivers. Particular attention is paid to professional driving in the transport of passengers, goods and dangerous materials, with qualification certificates, compliance with driving times and modern control systems.
The text also modernizes public action by introducing electronic payment of fines, drug‑detection devices, weighing stations and accident‑monitoring systems. It tightens the fight against fraud in spare parts and establishes a tiered criminal framework, classifying offences according to their seriousness, for fair and effective enforcement of penalties.