House to vote on undesirable filming of traffic accidents

Manama : The House of Representatives will vote for the third time this year on a proposal that calls for criminalising unauthorised filming of traffic accidents and crowding at accidents’ sites.

This comes as the House votes this week on a report issued by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee in the council, in favour for the proposal, after it was returned to the same committee twice in the past seven months for more study and further review.

BD500 fine

Initially submitted by MP Mohammed Al Maarifi, the proposal stipulates amending the existing Law 23 of 2014 (Traffic Law) and introducing punishments of imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months and a fine not less than BD50 and not exceeding BD500 or one of these penalties for individuals who film and publicise traffic accidents through any electronic or other means.

Al Maarifi said “The proposal aims at amending the existing traffic law to curb crowding at accidents’ sites with the intention of filming them and share the footage online, without taking others’ privacy into consideration”.

He commented, “Such phenomena have negative impact on the society, as individuals pictures are circulated against their will and without their acknowledgement. The amendment would also curb the disruption of traffic flow caused by crowding. To combat this alien phenomenon, we must criminalise such acts by amending the existing laws.”

The proposal was debated by MPs during a regular weekly session held in May, in the presence of representatives of the General Directorate of Traffic and Legal Affairs Directorate of Interior Ministry.

However, they couldn’t agree on the proposal, but voted for returning it to the committee for more review, similarly to a decision taken in a another session held in the same year.

Interior Ministry’s Legal Affairs Directorate commented that “the proposal tackles only one side of an unwanted phenomenon” and called for generalising the act instead of limiting it to traffic accidents.

Interior Ministry’s reply to the committee included that “the amendment should include all mishaps and not only traffic accidents, such as offshore and fire accidents”.

The committee’s report will be voted on and reviewed in the next regular weekly session of the council on Tuesday.