New law approves traffic camera timers, payment deadline extended to 90 days

The Parliament has passed new legislation that mandates the installation of countdown timers at traffic camera junctions and extends the deadline for paying traffic fines from 30 to 90 days.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved, by majority vote, one of the political party's proposals requiring countdown timers at intersections monitored by cameras. These timers will show the number of seconds left before the traffic light changes from green to amber, and then to red, for both straight-ahead traffic and right turns.

Authorities are required to install these timers within six months of the law’s publication. If they fail to do so, traffic light violation prosecutions will be temporarily suspended until the timers are in place.

The government is expected to send the law back to Parliament for further review. The Ministry of Transport has expressed opposition to the countdown timers, claiming they would disrupt the functionality of smart traffic lights.

In a separate unanimous vote, Parliament also approved another political party's proposal to extend the payment deadline for traffic fines to 90 days. The new provisions include:

• The extension of the payment period to 90 days from the date the fine is received, rather than from the date it was issued. After 90 days, unpaid fines will increase by 50%.
• The extension of the criminal prosecution period for unpaid fines to 105 days.
• A change to the Traffic Offences (Use of Photo Enforcement Devices and Related Matters) Law, ensuring that penalty points for traffic violations expire two years after being assigned.