Israelis Got 700,000 Traffic Tickets in 2016

Some 700,000 Israelis got citations for violating traffic laws in 2016 – with officers writing an average of 1,900 tickets a day, police said in their year-end accounting of traffic violations. The report was presented to the Knesset Economics Committee, which is set to decide in the coming weeks on whether to legislate harsher penalties for drivers who break the law.

When a driver gets a ticket for a traffic violation, he/she generally receives a fine as well as points – and according to police, over a million Israelis have points on their licenses. Most have 12 or fewer points, placing them at the low end of the violation spectrum, but substantial numbers have more. In 2016 36,000 drivers reached the maximum of 72 points, and had their licenses suspended for nine months.

Drivers who reach at least 12 points are required to attend a safety course as a condition of their being allowed to continue to drive. The committee is considering lowering the number of points necessary to attend those courses. According to experts who testified before the committee, attendance at the courses “directly impacts the behavior of drivers, and has been proven effective as a way to improve driving.”