Traffic law violators cannot leave Qatar without paying fines

From September 1, traffic law violators will not be allowed to leave Qatar through any borders (land, air, and sea) without paying the fines and dues through the (Metrash2) application, Ministry of Interior website, traffic sections, or unified service centres.Also announced Wednesday was a 50% discount on the value of traffic violations for all mechanical vehicles from June 1, 2024 until August 31, 2024. The discount includes violations recorded within up to three years.These are part of a set of new traffic rules and procedures announced by the Ministry of Interior (MoI) at a press conference. Public Relations Department director Brig Abdullah Khalifa al-Muftah, General Directorate of Traffic's Licensing Department assistant director Staff Col Ali Hassan al-Kaabi, and Traffic Safety Department's assistant director Maj engineer Mohamed Misfer al-Hajri were present.As per the new rules, a permit must be obtained from the General Directorate of Traffic for mechanical vehicles to exit Qatar as per the prescribed form and the following conditions: The vehicle must not have any outstanding traffic violations. The final destination (point of arrival) for the mechanical vehicle must be specified. The applicant for the permit must be the owner of the vehicle or present proof of the owner's consent for the vehicle to exit the country.The following vehicles are exempted from the requirement for a vehicle exit permit: 1. Vehicles bound for the GCC countries (point of arrival) provided they have no traffic violations, and the driver is either the owner or has the owner's consent. 2. Goods transporting vehicles.The officials announced rules for the return of vehicles with Qatari plates which are: Considering the exception mentioned in the "First" above, owner of a vehicle outside the country must adhere to the following: 1. Return the vehicles that are outside the country before applying these rules and procedures, within (90) days from the date of this announcement, unless the owner obtains a permit from the licensing authority for the vehicle to remain abroad for a specified period or periods. 2. Return the vehicle permitted to leave the country before the permit expires, with the possibility to renew the permit for a further period or periods.In case of violating the aforementioned rules and procedures, legal actions will be taken, including the administrative impoundment of the vehicle for up to (90) days.Effective from the date of the announcement, mechanical vehicles outside the country will not be allowed to renew their registration unless the vehicle undergoes a technical inspection inside the country. If the registration is not renewed within the legal period (30 days from the expiration date), the vehicle owner must return the license plates to the General Directorate of Traffic.Failure to return the plates will result in referring the violator to the Public Prosecution for its procedures, according to Article (95) of the mentioned Traffic Law, which stipulates imprisonment for not less than one week and not more than one year, and a fine of not less than QR3,000 and not more than QR10,000 or either of these penalties.Effective from 22 May 2024, as per the provisions of the Article No. 49 of the Traffic Law, buses with more than 25 passengers, taxis, limousines and motorcycles for delivery services are prohibited from using the left lane on road networks with three or more lanes in each direction while the lane changes are allowed at least 300m before intersections.Failure to adhere to the specified lane will refer the violators to the Public Prosecution for its procedures according to Article (95) of the Traffic Law.