Driving license with points will not be applicable before first semester of 2018

Algeria’s interior ministry will not apply driving license with points until the first semester of 2018. Electronic biometric driving licenses will be distributed before the end of 2017.

Director of the National Center of Roads Security Ahmed Nait Hocine Monday said electronic biometric driving licenses will be distributed before the end of 2017. Driving licenses with points will be applicable in 2018’s first semester. 

“The operation may need 5 years before banning old driving licenses,” he told journalists.

He added that the number of traffic accidents decreased this year by 14.81 percent compared to 2016. A total of 17,333 accidents took place killing 2,517 people and injuring 25,426 others. 

Nait Hocine believes that the number of dead people will not exceed 3,000 this year while the average of people killed in accidents was estimated at more than 4,000 per year. This would be due to awareness-raising campaigns conducted by the Center in collaboration with different organizations and institutions.

Speaking about financial losses due to traffic accidents, he said they exceed 100 billion DZ annually.

“Man is one of the most important causes of traffic accidents. The first factor is high speed. People aged between 18 and 29 caused more than 35 percent of the accidents,” he added.