Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Traffic Department has reiterated that all road offenses are taken seriously and flouting the rules can land motorists behind bars besides having to pay heavy penalties. In an effort to ensure more discipline among motorists and curb haphazard parking, the traffic police have been paying special attention toward to parking offenders, a senior traffic official has said. Col. Zaid Al-Hamzi, head of public relations at the Traffic Department in Jeddah, said despite the enforcement of strong measures, parking violations were on the rise in Jeddah and it needed to be curbed. In most areas of Jeddah, parking can be a real hassle because finding a parking spot can be challenging for many. Random parking on pavements, double-parking or parking in non-designated areas top the violations. "We have issued 860,916 penalty tickets for wrong parking last year. Of the errant drivers 573,464 were Saudis and 286,732 expatriates," Al-Hamzi told Saudi Gazette. He also said the traffic police strictly enforced the seatbelt rule. Fastening seatbelts is mandatory for drivers and front-seat passengers while it is advisable, but not mandatory for passengers in the rear seats. According to Al-Hamzi, traffic police insist on wearing seatbelts because it helps save lives in case of accidents. "The impact of an accident often can be fatal if the person was not wearing a seatbelt. Nevertheless, it is one of the major violations by motorists," he said. Police have registered 269,383 cases against drivers for not fastening seatbelts while there were 37,716 cases of front seat passengers not wearing them, he added. Although using a phone while driving is not completely banned, it is mandatory for drivers to use hands-free sets. Using a mobile phone while driving without a hands-free set is very dangerous as it distracts the driver and can lead to serious accidents, said Al-Hamzi. Traffic officers have registered 119,764 cases for using mobile phones while driving, he added. The most punishable traffic offense in Kingdom is jumping a red light. While it may seem unthinkable for most drivers to rush through a red light, yet Jeddah has recorded 54,461 such cases in a year. The traffic police also registered 95,404 cases against people who were caught driving with expired driving license. Among them 39,663 were expatriates, according to Al-Hamzi. Asked about fines for taking a right turn at red lights, Col. Hamzi explained that motorists have to stop with the indicator on before proceeding and turning right from the last lane. Regarding display of items on dashboards, he said no such cases were registered so far. He, however, said the officers issued 153,365 tickets for blocking views by shading windows, which is forbidden. Police registered cases against 84 people who were caught driving under the influence of intoxicants, he said. Hamzi said the Traffic Department was determined to reduce road violations by applying strict penalties on errant motorists based on the extent of the violation.
