2,220 traffic tickets issued as students celebrate Tawjihi results

AMMAN — Traffic officers issued 2,220 tickets and impounded 48 vehicles on Sunday in the hours following the announcement of Tawjihi results, the Public Security Department (PSD) said. 

The results of the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination were announced on Sunday morning after Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat held a press conference at the ministry. 

By 4pm, the Central Traffic Department had issued 2,220 tickets for reckless driving, celebratory gunfire, car processions, hanging dangerously out of car windows and beeping horns, as students celebrated their results, the PSD said in a statement. 

A rescue patrol in Wadi Al Rimam caught two people firing guns from their vehicle and took them to a police station, the PSD said. 

PSD Director Maj. Gen. Atef Saudi said strict measures will be taken against those who engage in festive shooting. 

During a phone call to the Amen FM morning radio show, Saudi said those caught firing guns in celebration will be detained by order of the administrative governor or the attorney general. 

“There will be no wasta in this issue,” Saudi noted, referring to the use of personal connections to obtain favours. 

Over 20,000 PSD personnel are working across Jordan to ensure public security and to prevent dangerous celebrations, he added.

PSD spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times that there have been fewer instances of celebratory gunfire on Sunday compared to previous years.   

Amman Traffic Department Director Col. Basem Kharabsheh also said that fewer violations were recorded on Sunday compared the announcement of Tawjihi results in previous years, but he added that more violations were expected to occur through Sunday evening. 

Ahead of the announcement of the high school exam results, which decide which majors students can pursue at university, authorities made preparations to step up monitoring of traffic violations, Kharabsheh told The Jordan Times.

Extra officers were deployed to the streets to confiscate vehicles caught breaking traffic rules, issue tickets and refer suspects to the administrative governor where necessary, he said.  

For the first time, helicopters were deployed to watch for violations, Kharabsheh added. 

He noted that the helicopters were fitted with cameras to detect traffic violations like reckless driving, obstructing traffic and celebratory car processions.