JEDDAH, 1 December 2002 — The Committee of Donors that helps poor prisoners in the Makkah region paid more than SR13 million in bloody money to gain the release of 185 prisoners this year, according to Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, chairman of the committee.
The committee pays blood money on behalf of drivers who are held in jail because they cannot pay the next of kin of accident victims. It also helps families whose breadwinners are in jail.
Road accidents in the Kingdom totalled 320,000 this year at the rate of 820 accidents a day, according to the latest study prepared by Saudi Aramco.
This is much higher than last year’s total of 280,400 with a daily average of 779 accidents.
The study also found that 13 people were killed and 86 injured daily in these accidents against 12 deaths in 2001. International studies have described the Kingdom as the most dangerous driving zone in the world with the highest accident rate.
