A study and report conducted by the General Directorate for Traffic in Saudi Arabia disclosed disturbing statistics, indicating that the number of traffic violations has risen to 8.9 million recorded throughout the Kingdom in the past year. The study showed that the number of traffic violations attributed to speeding had risen by 4.8 percent compared to the year before. Similarly, the number of accidents that occurred this year increased by 2.8 percent, the number of injuries as a result of traffic accidents increased by 11.5 percent, and the number of fatalities increased by 7.4 percent. In response to the findings of this report, Shoura Council member and director of the technical department at the General Directorate for Traffic, Dr. Abdul Jalil Al-Saif, has prepared a list of recommendations and substantial changes which he proposes be made to the traffic department in the Kingdom, and which he will be presenting to the Shoura Council in the coming weeks. It is charged that traffic regulations are not tight enough, the rules and regulations are poorly and insufficiently implemented, and there is a lack of adherence to these rules by the general population. It is easier for unsafe drivers to get away with their mistakes because there is a shortage of police cars patrolling the streets and monitoring unruly driving behavior. Sayed Muhammad, an eye-witness to a road accident, narrated to Saudi Gazette, “At the school where I pick up two girls for the family I work for, I saw a car that was already at a complete stop unexpectedly being hit by another car from behind. The rear bumper was damaged and the brake lights on the right side were broken. The offending driver was literally a kid, no more than 14 years old and he instantly swerved the car away, and took off. We had no time to record the license plate number on the car or properly identify the car's make and model.” Concerned parents have been complaining for years of the dire deficiency in adequate traffic education and the lack of respect for traffic laws among the majority of motorists in the Kingdom. Bad driving habits are rampant in this country that not only result in traffic congestion, and cause damage to vehicles and property making stress levels and tension soar when on the road, but also lead to a loss of human lives. Examples of practices that infuriate the careful drivers include: double parking, driving on the yellow line, suddenly changing lanes without even using turn signals to warn other motorists, running through red lights, and not buckling up young children. By engaging in such irresponsible practices, motorists put their own lives and the lives of others on the road at risk.
In Jeddah, Saher cameras for traffic offenders are only installed on the major roads and freeways and not on many of the city streets. In the capital city there is a noticeably higher number of security cameras installed; on almost every major intersection. However, officials and experts have brought attention to some flaws even in this security system. The study conducted by the General Directorate for Traffic concluded that the increase in traffic violations despite the new and stiffer penalties on traffic violations could be due to the fact that the registered owner of the car is the one who experiences the financial burden and not the driver himself. In most cases, the driver involved in accidents is not the owner of the car. It is the driver who should be held accountable and punished, rather than the owner of the car who entrusted his car to someone else and unfortunately ends up paying for his mistakes. If the driver is not penalized, then such hazardous driving habits will continue unchecked in our society and the incorrect driving behavior will persist.
