I have been hearing a number of comments from a variety of people with a disturbing trend in content. Most speak of the ill luck and unfair treatment they have encountered at the hands of our traffic police. And not surprisingly, the majority of these encounters involve expats.
In one instance, an individual was returning home when he happened to come to a traffic checkpoint. He had just turned his passport and iqama in for renewal earlier in the day, and had his company’s letter attesting to the fact. Apparently that did not sway the cop on duty who herded him to the back of a truck, where he sat for over an hour in the afternoon heat as more victims were being herded into this mobile detention room.
After several hours and interventions from family members, he was released. No apologies to the victim, or word of rebuke to the arresting officer.
In another instance, a motorist was stopped for failing to strap his seat belt on. He was amazed. He checked the clip on his belt, and yes there it was. Secured and in place. When he argued with the cop that it was on all the time, he was threatened with detention. Reluctantly, he accepted the citation for violation.
And yet, another time a motorist was idling at a red traffic light waiting to turn left when a traffic cop car pulled in behind him and turned it’s beacon lights on. When he failed to move until the light turned green, he was stopped at the shoulder of the turn. The cop demanded to know why the motorist had not moved and given way when he flashed the lights. The motorist politely replied that the signal light was still red.
License and car registration was immediately asked for, and when it was obvious that this motorist was a foreigner, a citation was issued on the spot. It seems the cop was in a hurry, and this poor motorist was in his way. His stubbornness to follow road rules did not absolve him of the cop’s wrath.
I myself had experienced a bizarre situation with these road warriors. Returning from work one afternoon on Madinah Road, I noticed the patrol car ahead of me discarding trash every few seconds straight out of the window onto the highway. When he pulled off into the exit, I followed and as I came alongside, I lowered my window and beckoned him to do the same.
When he did so, I politely told him that it was very disturbing to witness anyone disposing of trash on a busy road, more so an official. After all, didn’t we all want to keep Jeddah clean? He took one look at me in my Western attire, and told me to pull up ahead on the road. Then he demanded to see my license, registration and iqama!
When confronted with the evidence that I was a Saudi, he brushed off my comments on his behavior, and told me to be on my way. Pity if I was holding an iqama, where would I have ended up at? And with what charges?
The list of such incidences is endless. And yet, there is very little motorists can do. Unless quick and expedient traffic courts are set up where a motorist can confront his accuser, expect more of the same.
—Tariq A. Al-Maeena ([email protected])