As Riyadh goes into the second phase of the modernization of its public transportation system with the development of infrastructure for modern trains, the whole city is paralyzed by construction, detours and noise pollution. Riyadh's traffic was notorious to begin with, but now the implementation of the mass transit system is creating even more stress for drivers in the city. Every morning, while hundreds of motorists snake through side streets and detours, many of them try to beat the traffic by speeding up unnecessarily or driving on the shoulders of the road creating situations which affect the flow of traffic. In the last 10 months, a 20-minute commute has taken me an average of 45 minutes each morning due to heavy traffic. Most mornings, traffic is at a standstill due to accidents and fender benders. However, the most astonishing part of all of this is that even though traffic is at a standstill or slowed down to a crawl, somehow, a driver or two will manage to accelerate to speeds in excess of 40 km/h and crash into either the barricades or the side walls. The reasons for this congestion and the delay in the flow of traffic are not the roads or the new traffic patterns but are rather the impatient and uncourteous drivers. Forming the “fourth” lane on a three-lane road cannot be considered safe and does not help with moving things right along. This extra lane becomes a hazard and poses danger to other drivers on the road causing further bottlenecks and congestion on already congested roads. This lack of respect for other drivers and above all for the traffic laws in the Kingdom is becoming the norm for an increasing number of drivers. This does not mean that only Saudi nationals are driving in a rash manner because many times, as far as I can see, it is expat drivers who tend to zip through traffic at high speeds while chauffeuring their employers. In some of my conversations with these drivers over the last few months, the appalling disregard for Saher speed cameras is quite high and most of them are not concerned with who will pay these fines if a speeding citation is issued to them. In the next few years, as a number of Saudi youth return to the Kingdom for work after having completed their education abroad, the traffic situation is bound to improve. However, we all need to realize that someday the number of cars on the road will increase when women are allowed to drive. It would be in everyone's best interest if we could mentally prepare ourselves for what is bound to come in possibly the near future. Rehman Khan, Riyadh
