Citizenship, speed bumps, and Supreme Council role

Arab Times

05-05-2025

Despite the recent toughening of penalties, the traffic situation in Kuwait continues to suffer from chronic chaos, a problem deeply rooted in years of neglect. At its core, the issue is ethical, and its solution must start with education from a young age. Financial penalties and imprisonment alone cannot address the root cause. Beyond the anxiety we experience on the roads, particularly on highways, due to reckless drivers committing violations such as wrongful overtaking, speeding, sudden lane changes, and failing to signal before turning left or right, there is the ongoing presence of dilapidated vehicles lacking proper tail lights. This situation highlights the lack of professionalism in the vehicle inspection department, as well as the failure to enforce international inspection standards. These requirements should extend beyond simple checks on a vehicle's chassis number, tail lights, and exhaust emissions. They must also include assessments of the vehicle's overall condition based on a number of factors such as ensuring it is free of dents, checking its road-worthiness, testing brake performance, and evaluating tire quality, all of which are well understood by traffic experts.
Meanwhile, when visiting any public sector hospital or park, we are immediately confronted by the extent of negligence and the widespread parking violations, with little attention paid to the issue despite its serious consequences. Many people irresponsibly park their cars behind others, blocking entrances and exits. This is often due to reluctance to use multi-level parking facilities or the lack of police officers assigned to issue fines in these areas. To address this, it is essential to seriously consider the establishment of companies specifically tasked with issuing traffic violation tickets in various locations. Priority should be given to employing Kuwaiti retirees, offering them a fair commission or wage for their work. These companies could not only provide a valuable source of revenue for the state treasury but also significantly reduce the number of parking violations, especially in disabled parking spaces. This would free up police officers to focus on more important security matters. It may also be appropriate to grant these companies the authority to issue tickets to street vendors, given the potential danger their activities pose to public health and the obstruction they cause to traffic.
In another matter, I would like to once again inquire about the role of the so-called 'Supreme Traffic Council,' which we often hear about but know little about its actual involvement in controlling traffic, improving road conditions, or reducing accidents. The only update we receive is that it meets every three months. It may be time to consider dissolving the Supreme Traffic Council, with full respect for its members, or granting them more authority and restructuring its responsibilities to allow it to play a more effective role. Finally, the decisions of the Nationality Verification Committee have revealed that many individuals obtained citizenship through connections, such as the intervention of a Member of Parliament or others, without meeting any of the legal requirements. This situation is similar to the issue of unnecessary speed bumps. In some residential areas, we find streets without schools or shops, yet an excessive number of speed bumps are installed. The reason? Homeowners often contact a traffic officer or a friend at the Ministry of Public Works to have speed bumps installed in front of their homes. We hope the General Traffic Department will consider removing these unnecessary speed bumps, which are disproportionately abundant compared to any other country.