Algeria: drivers to get two driving licenses by January

Algerian interior ministry is expected to issue two driving licenses and implement the law on notation driving license in next January, according to General Director of Road Prevention and Safety National Center.

The first license is official and the other is for points withdrawal. It will be used to withdraw points if drivers violate rules of the road, Hachemi Boutalbi told Echorouk on Monday.

This new license is meant to prevent drivers from obtaining new license if they lose points. It will be given to all drivers and will just be used to withdraw points if a traffic violation is committed.

“Every driver will have two licenses. The first one is ordinary and the second is for notation system. The National Gendarmerie and the Police will withdraw the licenses from any driver who violates the rules of road. The ordinary license will be suspended for two months and points will be subtracted in the second license,” Boutalbi said.

He added that the second license includes 24 points which can be subtracted depending on the violation type. Drivers can recover its points by attending catch-up sessions in driving schools but it must not be more than two sessions.

If all points are subtracted, the license will be withdrawn definitively and his or her owner’s name will be mentioned at the National Register of Traffic Violation.

The second license will be operational pending for the issue of the National Card of Driving Licenses and car registration papers.

The National Card of Driving Licenses and car registration papers will be a reference for notation driving licenses. It will include the number of subtracted points and will enable to discover all counterfeiting cases.

Drivers who allege that they lost their licenses will not be allowed to obtain another copy. A coordination network between the National Gendarmerie and the Police will be created to exchange information contained in the National Card.