On the highways adjacent to tourist attractions and recreation areas, smashed vehicles surrounded by gawking crowds are a common sight. (AN photo)

ALKHOBAR, 8 June 2007 — With the school vacation nearly upon us, residents of the Eastern Province are bracing for the “season of carnage.” Near Dammam and Alkhobar, on the highways adjacent to tourist attractions and recreation areas, rescue vehicles surrounded by gawking crowds will soon become a common sight. Aware that most of the worst accidents happen at night, many local families ensure that they are off the roads by sunset.

The summer slaughter is just another factor leading to “killer road fear,” which already has a strong hold on the psyches of the mothers in the region. Some women admit that they implore their husbands and sons to telephone whenever their loved ones reach any destination. The mothers aren’t interested in “checking up” on their families, they just want to be able to stop worrying.

And they worry with reason. According to the Interior Ministry’s data center, during the last five years, traffic departments have registered more than 1.36 million accidents that caused the deaths of 21,900 people and injured 122,600 others. Al-Watan newspaper has quoted Ali Al-Ghamdi, chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, as estimating losses from traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia last year at SR27 billion or 3.5 percent of the nation’s gross national product.

Arab News met with a group of mothers to discuss their feelings about the situation on Saudi Arabia’s roads. Although women are not allowed to drive in the Kingdom, they often suffer the most from the atrocious traffic conditions.

Eman Goodwin admitted that fear has become a part of her life. She is afraid that every time her husband gets in the car, that something dreadful will happen to him. Although she believes her husband is a good driver and rationally knows that this should give her confidence, she is also aware that so many husbands and fathers have been killed or hurt by ignorant drivers who simply don’t care about road safety.

“Sometimes if another driver thinks you aren’t driving fast enough, he’ll get mad and pass so close that it feels like he wants to harm you,” Goodwin claimed. “It’s malicious. When my poor mother came to the Kingdom for a visit, all she did was sit in the car and gasp continuously every time we went out. It was frightening for her.”

Another mother, Zineb Bella, has an 18-year-old son who will be driving soon. “He thinks he’s ready,” she said. “But I’m petrified.”

Bella explained that she has witnessed the misfortunes, financial or worse, that have happened to her friends when their sons were involved in accidents. She is concerned that the love of speed for which Saudi youth are famous, coupled with the diverse driving styles and abilities of many expatriates, creates an extremely dangerous driving environment especially for a young driver. Bella also believes that the driver’s license examination should be made more difficult, including a requirement to demonstrate driving ability on Saudi roads, rather than just inside an empty lot.

Many of the women called for there to be a greater enforcement or driving regulations and much tougher punishments for speeding and crossing red signals. It was suggested that fines for speeding could be increased to several thousand riyals per offense and crossing red signals would lead to a month in prison. There was also a recommendation that high school graduation certificates of young men be withheld for six months if they had two or more serious traffic violations and that university students would face suspension for serious traffic offenses. However, it was noted that laws without enforcement are already an issue.

“Wasta or connections should be useless when it comes to violations of the traffic code,” said Leslie Woods. “There is a lack of education about proper road safety but there is also an idea that ‘wasta’ can fix any punishment. It’s no good creating laws that won’t be enforced.”

In the GCC there is some precedent for such a policy. In nearby Dubai no one is excused from paying traffic fines and Bahrain insists that Saudis pay their traffic fines or they may not re-enter the country. The mothers emphasized that it is essential that penalties target the young men directly since too often parents end up paying fines. It was suggested that traffic school, community service and even punishments with an “embarrassment factor” be implemented to encourage young driving offenders to slow down.

“I think it’s the mood and the tone,” said Kelly Al-Nashmi. “Inside Saudi Aramco’s compound where there is zero tolerance for speeding and ignoring traffic regulations, drivers have learned to obey the rules. There is also an issue that teenagers are attention seeking and if they don’t do well in school and receive positive attention, then they go out on the roads and do negative things. We should monitor students for hidden disabilities so they are able to succeed and have respect for their lives.”

Mana S. added that it would be good for teenagers who have been in serious accidents and suffered terrible injuries to speak at schools regularly.

“Teenagers learn from their peers. When you’re young you only think about your life maybe a month into the future. It can be difficult for teenagers to understand the consequences of their actions,” she advised. “Hearing the stories of young men who have to face a future in a wheelchair or with brain damage could make an impression.”

It is of course tragic when a young man does decide that the need for speed is the most important element of his life. Julie Al-Amer knows that all too well because on May 1 her beloved son, Amr, died in a single car accident in which speed was recognized as a contributing factor in the fatal outcome.

“The accident took place in the morning, near Alkhobar’s Corniche, two days after Amr’s 18th birthday,” said his mother with tears in her eyes. “My son was so bright and full of energy. We just wanted him to finish school and do something good with his life. I miss seeing his face every day.”

Device Reduces Speeding

Many people think that preventing speeding depends solely on driver judgment. In actuality, many vehicles imported to the Kingdom are fitted with a piece of equipment called a speed governor. This device regulates the maximum speed of the vehicle, not the horsepower, and is installed by the manufacturer to protect the car’s tires.

Speed governors come set from the manufacturer usually at maximum speeds between 160 and 200 km per hour. Car owners can request that local dealers reset the device to a lower maximum speed. While it is possible to remove or reset the speed governor, doing so requires considerable planning, effort and know-how.

Resetting the governor will not completely solve the speeding problem. It will be still be possible for drivers to operate vehicles too fast for conditions on lower-speed roads. However, since speed at impact is significant in crash outcome, lowering the governor setting can be a positive move towards enhancing traffic safety.