Point System Overhaul: Tighter Penalties for Phone Use, and When Driver Training Will Kick In

Last Thursday brought an important change in Israel’s enforcement policy for traffic offenses: the Transport Ministry published an amendment to the draft traffic regulations that is set to change the way the Israel Police and the Transport Ministry handle a long list of traffic violations. The main change from what had been customary until now concerns the number of “points” drivers in Israel receive for a wide range of offenses. Under the draft, some offenses will now carry more points, some fewer, and in fact some offenses will carry no points at all. How and why is the Transport Ministry suddenly deciding to “favor” drivers, where will they actually be harmed, and why is this happening now? Here are the answers.

So what actually happened last week? In short, the driver points system changed. The change affects, among other things, how quickly drivers are sent to driver training, what penalty they will receive if they use a cellphone while driving, how long points remain on a license, and more. In practice, this is one of the most significant changes in recent years in the way the State of Israel deals with traffic offenses.

What did we do to deserve all this good? Do you remember the traffic offense reform? That reform took effect in February. It defined many traffic offenses as “violations,” meaning relatively minor offenses are no longer treated as criminal offenses. To this end, special courts were established, with digital proceedings. But one problem was not solved: for all offenses handled in the new courts, no points are assigned. That sounds absurd, but the issue was not regulated by the Transport Ministry because of a dispute with the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, which argued that it is impossible to establish new courts for minor offenses and then hit drivers with points for every small violation, because many drivers would quickly lose their licenses.

Last week, the issue was discussed in the Economic Affairs Committee. The committee sent the Transport Ministry to do its homework and come back with answers in two weeks. The traffic regulations amendment is the answer.

You are talking about a change in points, but why should I care about points? I care about how much of a fine I pay. A serious mistake: today, most traffic offenses in Israel carry two types of penalties, a monetary fine and points. Many drivers ignore the points, and that is not wise. Points are the State of Israel’s way not only of punishing, but also of identifying serial offenders and keeping a closer eye on them. Today, as mentioned, an offense brings a fine, but not only that, most offenses also add points. Each offense has its own number of points, and that is where things become problematic: anyone who accumulates 24 to 36 points is invited to a driver training course. Anyone who accumulates more than 36 points gets a three-month suspension. In more serious cases, when it comes to very heavy offenders, the driving test must even be taken again. Still, a fine hurts the pocket.

Will all this change affect the fines paid for offenses? No. Only the points.

Are you sure this affects only the points and not the size of the fines? We emphasize again, the new system concerns only points, because it relates to the classification and treatment of drivers considered more serious offenders.

What is the problem? I barely accumulated any points, let those who drive 200 km/h go to driver training. Not so fast: in recent years the scope of enforcement has increased significantly. The Israel Police has introduced new digital tools, and today you do not need to drive 200 km/h to become an offender. Three catches in two years for using a phone without a hands-free device, eight points each time, and there you go, an invitation to a driver training course, congratulations. And that is before many other offenses you probably did not know carried points. For example, six points for driving without a vehicle registration. Six points for failing to obey a direction sign, the one with the arrow. In short, points are no joke.

So what is changing compared with what has been in place until now? The change in all policy related to the points drivers receive will be reflected in several areas, how long points remain on a license, how many points will be added for certain offenses, meaning how much harsher the penalties will be, and also how many points will be reduced for certain offenses. In principle, the change is based on an approach that says offenses the Transport Ministry defines as “life-threatening” or “core offenses” are offenses that should be emphasized more. This is a very significant change: it sets that from now on, punishment for drivers will focus mainly on specific offenses that are more dangerous, or as the Transport Ministry writes, “the proposed tightening of penalties is not merely a punitive step, but a surgical move designed to change the cost-benefit balance of committing ‘core’ offenses, those that are the direct and decisive cause of most fatal accidents in Israel.”

Okay, so from now on there will be more points for serious traffic offenses. Which offenses are we talking about? It is a bit complicated: the basic assumption of the Transport Ministry is that there are five life-threatening offenses, illegal cellphone use while driving, excessive speed, failure to yield to pedestrians, running a red light, and drifting onto the shoulder. All are serious, but not all of them are intended to carry more points.

The offenses that will carry 10 points are: distracted driving, meaning illegal use of a cellphone while driving, currently eight points; failure to yield to pedestrians, currently four to eight points depending on the severity of the offense and the level of risk to the pedestrian; and drifting onto the shoulder, currently six points.

What about speeding? You said the Transport Ministry defined it as a serious offense. The Transport Ministry defines excessive speed as a serious offense, but speeding has its own rules. It is divided into penalty levels according to the speed, which also makes sense, meaning you cannot give 10 points to someone who drove 63 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. In any case, the Transport Ministry’s wording does not include an increase in points for speeding.

Points for speeding are complicated because they are divided into two types, those given to someone caught on an urban road and those given to someone caught on an intercity road. On an urban road, up to 20 km/h above the limit means only a NIS 250 fine, with no points. 21 to 30 km/h above the limit in the city means a NIS 750 fine and eight points. 31 to 40 km/h on an urban road will result in a NIS 1,500 fine and 10 points. And if the speed is higher than that, the driver’s license is suspended, the driver is summoned to court, and gets 10 points.

If we are talking about an intercity road, speeding of up to 25 km/h above the limit means a NIS 250 fine. If the driver is caught going 26 to 40 km/h above the limit on an intercity road, that means a NIS 750 fine and eight points. If it is 41 to 50 km/h above the limit, there is a NIS 1,500 fine and 10 points. And anyone who rockets outside the city at more than 51 km/h above the limit will also get 10 points, a suspension, and a court appearance, where the court will decide on the fine. In short, speed is a complicated matter, because there are different levels of severity for speeding. You cannot decide that everyone who drives fast will get 10 points.

What about running a red light? The Transport Ministry said this is a dangerous offense. Correct, but it already carries 10 points today. You cannot give more than 10 points. In any case, it is one of the most serious offenses. Take a driver who is a serial offender and ignores the law: if in one month he runs one red light, gets caught once with a cellphone in his hand while driving, and drives on the shoulder once, then under the new system he will find himself with 30 points. And there is your driver training course. One more offense worth six points? That is already a suspension.

You can understand points for scrolling Facebook on a cellphone while driving and for running a red light, but drifting onto the shoulder? What is that even? What if I have a flat tire? According to the Transport Ministry, last year 13 percent of the fatalities recorded were drivers and pedestrians injured because of driving off the marked roadway. You know those people who “cut from the shoulder” when everyone is stuck in traffic? Great, now they will be punished severely for it. From 6 points to 10 is a serious increase. There are also those who drove on the shoulder because they were distracted and hit pedestrians. By the way, this does not apply to motorcycles. One can understand why, they do not have to sit in traffic like everyone else, if they do not have to.

What is the story with shortening the time points remain? Traffic points remain on a driver’s license for two years. That is how the authorities know whether to summon them for driver training or suspend their license. Points are automatically deleted after two years. Now the Transport Ministry is proposing to delete the points after one year. Simple math: it is easier to accumulate 30 points over two years on the road than in one year.

This is a good step for drivers, unless they are serious offenders, because the rule will not apply to all offenses: the system the Transport Ministry is proposing is to delete the points after one year, but that will apply only to drivers who accumulated up to 22 points, meaning drivers who are not serial offenders. And that deletion will also not apply to offenses that already carry eight points today.

In short, someone who is a serial offender whose hobby is committing serious traffic offenses will not benefit from this deletion. That means, for example, someone who accumulated points for cellphone use will not benefit from the one-year deletion. By the way, truck drivers who are on the road a lot will also not be able to benefit from these reliefs, they apply only to passenger car drivers.

In addition, the deletion will not apply to offenses involving prohibition signs. For those who do not know, a prohibition sign is the red-circle sign. For example, no overtaking, or no entry. There is logic in that, if you were told “this is prohibited” and then you thumbed your nose at the law, there is no reason to give you benefits. But if you happened to slip up and commit a minor offense, then the points are deleted after a year.

Wait, you said there is also a reduction in points. Why are they giving us a candy? The Transport Ministry says the goal is “to preserve the principle of proportionality and public trust,” meaning we should understand that alongside the tougher penalties for serious offenders, there are also benefits, namely that we will not get points for trivial offenses. That sounds wonderful, but in practice what happened is that the Transport Ministry simply waited months upon months to regulate the points issue. The reform we discussed in the courts, the “traffic violations” reform, took effect in February, four months ago, and since then the points issue has not been regulated. In exactly two more months, on August 7, a new stage of the traffic violations court reform will take effect, one that will include more serious traffic offenses, for example speeding, and the points issue has still not been regulated.

In short, this is a technical matter: the Economic Affairs Committee is not willing to approve points on a license without relief for drivers who are not serious offenders. So now there are reliefs for drivers. Where exactly is this favorable to drivers? There are several offenses that currently carry points. Soon there will be none, or fewer points. The reduction plan is divided into several categories: offenses that currently carry eight points and will now carry four, offenses that carry six points and will be reduced to four, offenses that carry six points and will be reduced to zero, and offenses that carry four points and will be reduced to zero.

Wow, confusing. Which offenses will get four points instead of six? Driving without a vehicle registration, or a vehicle registration that expired for a period of between four months and one year, meaning no test. In addition, there is a reduction from six points to four points for failing to obey all direction signs. These are the blue signs with the arrow that tell us where to drive. For example, sign 205, a blue sign telling drivers to turn left, sign 206, a blue sign telling drivers to turn right, sign 203, blue background, go straight in the direction of the arrow. In short, all the signs that give a direction, “go this way,” and not a prohibition, meaning the red signs. By the way, driving a vehicle with a trailer whose registration has been expired for more than a year also carries six points. Now it will be four.

Wow, confusing 2: Which offenses will get zero points instead of six? A vehicle registration that expired less than four months ago, meaning the car has been without a test for up to four months. A vehicle with excessive emissions. A vehicle with a trailer whose trailer registration has expired for up to one year. Entering an intersection when you cannot enter because it is congested.

Wow, confusing 3: Which offenses will get zero points instead of eight? A driving license that expired up to six months ago.

Wow, confusing 4: Which offenses will get four points instead of eight? A driving license that expired for more than six months and up to two years. For example, someone who went abroad for a year, did not renew the license, then returned to Israel and was caught driving with an expired license.

Wow, confusing 5: Which offenses will get six points instead of eight? A driving license that has been expired for more than two years. Not applicable to a new driver.

Sounds exhausting. Is this final? In principle, yes, but it requires final approval in the Economic Affairs Committee, which is likely to pass, at least according to what was reported to Calcalist. It is a matter of a few weeks. In any case, it must happen before August 7, the next stage of the traffic violations reform, meaning the stage in which the new courts will also adjudicate speeding offenses.

Just yesterday a police officer stopped me for failing to obey the blue sign that says to turn left. I got a ticket and there are also points. What should I do? In Israel, paying a ticket means admitting guilt. Admitting guilt means receiving a fine and points. As reported this week in Calcalist, there are thousands of drivers in Israel who in recent months, since the “traffic violations” reform came into force, rushed to admit they had committed offenses. And honestly, it is not yet clear whether they will be included under the old points system or the new one we are discussing here. But one thing is certain, it is not advisable to admit it now. Under the law, you can appeal, request an extension and so on. Until it is completely clear what will happen with the points, it is recommended to appeal.

I was caught texting while driving. Is there anything to do? Here the problem is actually that you will get more points, because this is an offense for which the law will be tougher. It is recommended to consult a lawyer who can say whether it is better to pay quickly and receive eight points instead of 10, if that takes effect, or wait.

So what now? One more offense or two and I am in driver training? If they are serious offenses, and they were committed within less than a year, then yes. In any case, it is recommended to check how many points we have accumulated on our license, and of course to drive legally.