Motorists can pay their traffic fines in installments, according to Col. Abdullah Al-Shahrani, Director of the Taif Traffic Department. Al-Shahrani said a motorist has the right to settle part of his fines in monthly installments, but his civil record at the Traffic Department will not be cleared unless he pays all the fines. Al-Shahrani said that everyone is entitled to pay off their fines in this manner, not only those who have to pay heavy or specific fines. Meanwhile, the annual report of the Riyadh Region Traffic Department has revealed that there were almost three million traffic violations in the capital city last year — an exact total of 2,953,894 violations. A total of 88,000 vehicles were impounded, of which 24,758 vehicles were impounded by the King Khalid International Airport Traffic Department. A total of 2,854 vehicles were impounded by undercover traffic policemen in Riyadh region. Other cars impounded were from downtown Riyadh and in the districts by Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and special task force teams, Al-Hayat Arabic daily reported. There were 206,000 violations involving jumping red traffic signals. The Riyadh Traffic Department registered about 250,000 violations for speeding; 73,000 for driving in the opposite direction; and 187,000 violations for not carrying a driving license, mostly recorded in the districts. The report said there were 421,000 fines issued for those not wearing seat belts. There was a drop in the number of joyriders — only 678 violations. The report showed that over 110,000 traffic violations were for “wrong overtaking.” Over 300,000 violations involved unlawful parking, the majority of which were detected by undercover traffic police near markets and residential districts with many shops. There were 148,000 violations involving the use of mobiles while driving, mostly detected by plain-clothed traffic policemen on the highways and in the districts. There were also 153,000 violations for cars with illegal dark-tinted glass. __
