RIYADH – Ninety percent of Saudis in the age group of 20 to 40 years have fallen in the Saher net and expatriates have been commended for their disciplined driving. Traffic Department statistics reveal that expatriates comprise only 10 percent of those issued tickets by the Saher system, Ajil online daily said. An official source in the Traffic Department said exceeding speed limit tops traffic violations by Saudis followed by obliterating the number plates. The latter phenomenon has assumed alarming proportions recently, the source said. These are followed by violation of stopping beyond the pedestrian crossing line. Cases of jumping the red light have gone down thanks to the surveillance cameras at a majority of intersections. Besides, the fine of SR500 has also contributed to forcing the motorists to comply with the regulations. But, the source said, Saher system has not contributed much in cutting down accidents. On the contrary, more accidents have been recorded, especially on highways. The source said Saher camera vehicles have netted a lot of speeding drivers. This was made possible because unlike highways, the cameras have not been installed at fixed places. “Were it not for changing the location of Saher vehicles, speed limit violations would not have increased,” the source said. He said expatriates are more compliant with traffic regulations including abidance by speed limits. In general, they make sure that they do not violate Saher and traffic regulations. Most of their violations include driving in the opposite direction and wrong parking. The source said expatriates take the initiative to pay the fines immediately unlike some Saudi youths who do not care to pay the fines. This forces the Traffic Department to double the fines if they are not paid within one month. Sometimes the fines reach SR900 for jumping the red traffic light and SR500 for exceeding the speed limit within and outside cities. The source admitted that youths, especially university and college students, are the ones whose fines double as during the current they do not need to visit the Passports Department, Civil Status Department and other government authorities that are linked electronically with the Traffic Department. He said in case of repetition of violation — like speed exceeding 160 km per hour — the Traffic Department ceases providing its services to the motorist. The offender can be referred to a court and the penalty includes detention and withdrawal of driving license.
