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Sisi amends traffic laws to curb fatal road accidents

Dangerous drivers face harsher sanctions with amendments to Egypt's traffic law in light of increasing road accidents.
A huge electoral banner for presidential candidate and former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seen among traffic during the third day of voting in the Egyptian presidential election in Cairo, May 28, 2014. Egyptians were initially slow to vote on a hastily added third day of a presidential election on Wednesday after lower-than-expected turnout threatened to damage the credibility of the man widely forecast to win, former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS ELECT

CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has approved tough new amendments to the traffic law that entered into force Nov. 24. The changes followed a rise in fatal road accidents, which take the lives of thousands each year. It is unclear, however, whether the amendments will be enough to address the problem.

“This seems to be a good step in the right direction, but we are waiting for the new parliament to issue new and inclusive laws,” Samy Mokhtar, head of the Egyptian Association for the Care of Road Accident Victims and Their Families, told Al-Monitor in a phone interview.

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