The Interior Ministry will continue to impound vehicles for no more than two months and implement a fine on drivers and passengers in front seats found not wearing seatbelts, or those using cellphones while driving, it said on Sunday.

The ministry will "firmly" carry on with the decision that also covers motorcyclists with no helmets, Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Major General Fahad Al-Shuwaie told a press conference.

Al-Shuwaie stressed that humanitarian cases involving the elderly, women and people with special needs, would be very well considered. "It is not logical to impound vehicles in such cases," he said.

Enforcing the decision aims to maintain safety of both citizens and expats, he said, noting that since the first day of application, Tuesday, with accident rate significantly down from 375 to 264, the following day. Traffic violations fell from 4,000 on parking in no-parking areas, or encroaching on pavements, to only 150 daily.

A vehicle could be impounded for two days to maximum two months, according to a violator's record and commitment to traffic rules, he said.

Al-Shuwaie referred to ongoing consultations between Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah and lawmakers through the legislative channels to augmented fines and penalties on some serious violations "for protecting our sons and youth."