The National Traffic Safety Observatory is drafting legislation to protect cyclists

New bills in Tunisia require the provision of helmets complying with international standards to reduce road fatalities by 50% as part of the traffic safety strategy.

The National Traffic Safety Observatory, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, prepared today, Tuesday 10 November 2026 in Tunisia, draft new laws dedicated to enhancing safety procedures for users of motorcycles and two-wheelers. These legislative initiatives were presented during a workshop to evaluate the national multi-sectoral road safety strategy for the period 2025-2034.

Bills focus on the obligation to provide helmets that meet international standards adopted in Europe, in particular ECE 22.06, to ensure the highest level of prevention and reduce the risk of fatal accidents. These legislative guidelines aim to ensure the availability of specification-compliant protective equipment in the local market, while enforcing compliance with applicable traffic laws and applying them strictly to offenders.

The Ministry of Health's strategy representative and the head of the emergency department at the Mangiji Hospital, Salim Noor Al-Hadda Amira, explained that the national plan aims to reduce road fatalities by 50%. Motorcyclists, wind turbines and electric scooters are the most vulnerable to injury and death, she said, prompting the adoption of their own protective measures and improved preventive intervention results.

Amira pointed out that the problem in the country is not the absence of regulated legal texts, but the extent to which drivers are obliged to wear helmets that match the required technical specifications. She pointed out that coordination is taking place between various stakeholders to spread a culture of traffic based on good behaviour and dedicated to respecting the law to protect lives on the roads.

These actions are part of the executive axes of the National Multi-Sectoral Strategy for Road Safety 2025-2034, which the National Traffic Safety Observatory is following up on its legislative axes related to motorcycles. Strategists seek to complete the drafting of new laws and submit them for approval in parallel with tightening field surveillance on circulating safety equipment.