Saudi Gazette report Marat Road, located about 200 kilometers northwest Riyadh, is a vital road that links several governorates, including Dawadmi, Al-Sir, and Sajir, to Riyadh. Residents of these governorates use the road frequently when they travel to Riyadh on various needs. The road stretching more than 140 kilometers is only six meters wide, which is quite narrow considering the huge volume of traffic, Al-Riyadh daily reported. The road has seen several fatal accidents over the past 10 years, claiming many innocent lives. Last Ramadan, a man and his son were killed while other family members were seriously injured when their vehicle crashed into a heavy vehicle. The accident brought back the painful memories of people who were killed on the road in recent years. Abdulaziz Al-Jabri, a frequent user of the road, said the number of people who use this road has increased over the past few years. They include regular commuters as well as heavy vehicle drivers who transport various products from the region to the capital city and back. “I've seen several accidents on the road and all of them were horrific. I doubt anyone in those vehicles had survived,” Al-Jabri said. He said the real problem lies in the fact that most trucks using on the road exceed the allowed weight, which puts the lives of other road users in constant danger. He called on the authorities to end the suffering of the drivers who use the road by widening it and adding more lanes. Fatal accidents Muhammad Al-Shibani, who lives in Marat governorate, said the road has not been expanded ever since it was built about 10 years ago. He blamed the drivers of heavy trucks for most of the accidents that occur on the road. He suggested that authorities ban heavy trucks from the road until it is widened. Badar Al-Aqal, another road user, called upon the Ministry of Transport to do something and take an urgent action to prevent more fatalities on the road. “Our governor conveyed the demands of the residents to higher authorities to make the road wider but no action has been taken so far,” Al-Aqal said. Muhammad Al-Dayel, who uses the road frequently, called upon the ministry to form a committee to monitor heavy traffic on the road to have a better idea about the condition of the road. The committee should come up with a swift and practical solution to prevent more people from getting killed on the road unnecessarily.
