THE new traffic law will be put into effect in less than a month, say police officials as well as Dr. Fat’hi, the president of the City Council. The reason Dr. Fat’hi announces the news is that a large share of the money gained through these traffic fines, 60 percent to be exact, goes to municipalities; the traffic police gets only 20 percent, and the other 20 percent goes to a fund which is intended for compensating insurance damages.
But the most important point is that the traffic fines are raised dramatically in the new law, and the regulations are stricter. You may think there has been some kind of typographical error in the new list, in which the fines are doubled and sometimes even trebled. For example, an unauthorized overtaking in a two lane road may cost you 90 dollars, three times more than before. Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or similar substances will mean a ticket for 200 dollars, although this is, hopefully, not an issue in Gerash! All in all, you can imagine being fined over 500 dollars for only one hour driving.
This being said, many people may prefer going walking instead of feeling under surveillance all the time. Although the fines are a little lower for smaller cities in comparison with metropolises, they can still spell trouble for the customarily careless drivers in Gerash, for instance in finding a proper place to park their vehicles, or in fastening their seat belts all the time. Maybe it is a good thing that the traffic police are getting a little hard on people these days, since most of them will have a hard time coping with the new traffic law.
