Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM — The Interior Ministry may consider stopping its services for citizens and expatriates who have unpaid traffic fines against them, Al-Hayat newspaper reported Monday. It said violating expatriates would be banned from traveling while their iqamas will not be issued or renewed and they will not be able to obtain exit/re-entry visas. The services to be cut from the citizens who have outstanding traffic fines against them include issuance or renewal of passports, recruitment of foreign manpower, issuance or renewal of identity cards and issuance of driving licenses or car registrations. "A driver who commits traffic violations that endanger lives will have to stand before the authority and he will not be able to pay the fines before the authority has looked at the violations," said Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Shanbari, director of traffic at the Eastern Province. He said serious traffic violations include speeding, running red lights, reversing into the flow of traffic, joy riding and driving without proper licenses. Al-Shanbari made the statements on the occasion of the 30th GCC Traffic Week launched by the Eastern Province Emir Prince Saud Bin Naif at the Prince Sultan Center for Science and Technology on Sunday. During the event, 19 model drivers were honored by the traffic safety committee in cooperation with the traffic department and the Saudi society for traffic safety. Al-Shanbari said officers from general security forces, the Civil Defense and industrial security forces for public and private sectors would be authorized to issue tickets to violating drivers during the week. "They have already been provided with ticket books and their authority will continue for the whole year as part of efforts to further control traffic," he added. Al-Shanbari, on the other hand, said the Saher traffic system has reduced instances of motorists running red lights. "However, we will not judge the ability of the system to reduce speeding and accidents unless it has covered all the streets and areas in the province," he said. He explained the Saher system now covers only about 3 percent of the province. He said undercover traffic police issue about 1,000 violations every day. "The secret traffic police are using about 35 cars that enter into residential areas looking for violators," he said. Al-Shanbari said joy-riding offenses dropped by about 80 percent last year and added that they were monitoring potential offenders within a radius of about 200 km outside the main cities and towns.
