Israel Approves New Traffic Points Rules, Easing Minor Offenses and Toughening Serious Ones

The Knesset Economic Committee approved revised traffic points regulations on Monday, after committee chairman MK David Bitan pressed the Transportation Ministry to honor promises made when the administrative traffic offenses law was passed. The changes are meant to ease the burden on private drivers, while increasing penalties for dangerous violations.

Under the new rules, offenses worth up to 6 points will remain on a driver’s record for one year instead of two. Offenses worth 8 or 10 points will remain for two years. The committee also approved a rule that, if a driver is caught committing several violations in one incident, only the points for the most serious offense will be counted. In addition, points were reduced for several minor offenses, including driving with an invalid license, and the penalty for entering an intersection that cannot be cleared was cut from 6 points to zero.

At the same time, the committee approved the ministry’s request to raise the points for a series of severe offenses from 8 to 10. These include running a red light, failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, using a cellphone while driving, and driving on the shoulder. The ministry said the tougher penalties are meant to deter conduct that contributes to fatal crashes.

Some of the changes will take effect about a year after publication in the official gazette, because the shortened points-retention period requires computer-system changes. The points updates themselves will take effect about 30 days after publication. During the debate, advocates and industry representatives called for follow-up research, public reporting, and better treatment of professional drivers, while the Transportation Ministry said unresolved issues with information-sharing remain under discussion with the Justice Ministry.