Peruvian congressman Luis Quispe Candia announced he will request to summon Transport Minister Rafael Rey to answer for a recent 90 percent traffic fine discount.
Quispe Candia, a deputy for the Good Government Party (Partido del Buen Gobierno) and president of the Congressional Transport Commission, said he will ask the 20 members of his committee to approve the summons during a regular session next Tuesday.
The request will be processed alongside the approval of the committee work plan to coordinate the official appearance of the transport minister.
Speaking to local broadcaster Exitosa, Quispe Candia clarified that the initiative is not an interpellation or a formal questioning of the minister's performance, but an opportunity to explain the scope of the measure.
Congressional opposition to transport fine reduction
The lawmaker expressed strong disagreement with the government decree that heavily reduces traffic penalties. He described the agreement between the executive branch and transport unions as a major setback in road oversight that lowers compliance standards for drivers.
Quispe Candia said the decision taken by the government following a meeting with transport operators was purely political, lacking technical and ethical foundation. He added that the policy effectively rewards individuals who break traffic rules, which he considered unacceptable.
The commission president stated that the primary motive behind the fine reduction was to prevent transport unions from carrying out an announced strike. However, he acknowledged that the final supreme decree included corrections to exclude the most serious traffic offenders from benefiting.
Details of the 90 percent traffic fine discount
The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), the cabinet-level agency responsible for overseeing Peruvian transit infrastructure and transport regulations, officialized the 90 percent discount for both public and private vehicles.
Under the government decree, the 90 percent discount applies for 90 days to traffic infractions, which cover violations of road circulation rules such as running a red light. The discount extends to 180 days for transport infractions, which penalize service non-compliance such as operating public or freight transport without official authorization.
The discount benefit is available to all drivers with pending, accumulated, or ongoing collection fines, as well as those issued penalties during the discount window.
To take advantage of the reduction, drivers must pay the discounted amount. Settling the fine completely erases the debt, terminates administrative collection efforts, and prevents the sanction from adding penalty points to a driver's license or registering as a repeat offense record under national traffic laws.
The decree explicitly excludes severe offenses from any financial relief. No discount will be granted for fines related to driving while intoxicated, operating informal transport services, assaulting transport inspectors, or causing traffic accidents.
Proposal for independent traffic courts
To address police arbitrariness and prevent drivers from dodging fine payments through lengthy administrative appeals, Quispe Candia proposed that the Judiciary establish specialized administrative traffic and road safety courts.
Under Quispe Candia's proposal, traffic and transport citations would be submitted to an impartial judicial officer. This system would remove municipal governments and local administrative bodies from handling traffic penalty appeals directly.
The Congressional Transport Commission serves as the primary legislative body in Peru for evaluating national road safety policies, transport infrastructure projects, and executive regulatory decrees.
