Amendments approved by the Council of Ministers recently to the traffic law generated mixed reactions from the public. While some people said the new law is too strict and includes very harsh penalties, others considered it to be reasonable for reckless drivers, especially drifters, to receive severe punishments. A lawyer specialized in traffic systems said the amendments were in the interest of the citizen and his rights. He however described the mechanism adopted by the traffic police in installing speed cameras as "incompetent, and called for advanced surveillance cameras that can adjust the speed limits depending on road conditions and book only reckless violators. The lawyer criticized the amendments saying that they include only the doubling of fines, whereas the law must have included specific penalties for each type of violation and based on its severity. He considered the doubling of penalty for drifters to be damaging and could be a burden on parents because they cost a lot to them. "Young drivers who engage in drifting are ignorant about the law and do not care about money. The punishment must have been directed toward the violator himself, either by imprisonment or any other punishment and without leaving them open to the judge›s discretion,» he said. The lawyer described drifting drivers as "psychiatric patients» and said anyone who commits this type of offense should be sent to mental health hospitals to receive treatment and find out the reasons for their frustration. Human rights activist Mohammad Al-Thubayti said the amendments approved by the Council of Ministers are firm and necessary to stop reckless drivers from committing traffic offenses. He believed that traffic police must revamp their incompetent mechanism to apply the system because currently they do not possess the tools to do so. "They must increase the number of cameras monitoring the violation of red signals and smudging of number plates that doesn›t allow the police to identify violating cars,» said Al-Thubayti. "Surveillance cameras on the road are necessary to monitor traffic violations, but in many cases they either do not exist or are disabled.» The General Directorate of Traffic announced a new traffic system, which was approved by the Council of Ministers. Traffic penalties are considered one of the most controversial topics in the Kingdom, causing a lot of dissatisfaction among the public especially due to the doubling of fines. The economic loss from traffic accidents is estimated to be about SR21 billion a year as reported by the World Health Organization. Statistics reveal that the introduction of Saher, the automated traffic monitoring system, has contributed to reducing the rate of fatal accidents in the Kingdom by 26 percent in 1435AH, compared to the previous year.
