JEDDAH, 24 December 2002 — Hundreds of sophisticated cameras, including laser cameras, and radars have been installed on Jeddah’s main roads in an effort to stem the rise in serious traffic accidents, said a Traffic Department official.
While spreading traffic awareness at the ongoing motor show in Jeddah on Sunday, Brig. Saad Al-Ghamdi warned the public that road accidents in the Kingdom are rapidly increasing.
He told Arab News that accidents, caused mostly by speeding and motorists who the run red light and offenders whose pictures are stored on CDs at the traffic department, are required to pay heavy fines and could face strict actions.
“We are taking part in this year’s motor show with a view to increasing traffic awareness among motorists,” he said.
Brig. Al-Ghamdi said that speeding, negligence, failure to adjust to unexpected traffic situations, failure to give pedestrians the right-of-way and driving in the wrong lanes are regarded as the five major causes of traffic accidents in the Kingdom.
He pointed out that last year alone around 5,000 people were killed and 38,000 injured in motor accidents.
The latest report from the Traffic Department shows that in the past five months, an average of 10-15 people died in traffic accidents every day.
Since many drivers are new to the skill, they are more likely to not follow traffic regulations, Brig. Al-Ghamdi said.
The report also shows that there was a total of 1,62,3997 road violations reported last year which includes 142,183 for running traffic lights, 886,422 for not using the seat belt, and 100,275 for speeding.
He added that motorists aged 18-30 cause the largest number of road accidents.
“The latest report shows that road accidents are caused mostly by young drivers. We can classify the figures as follows: number of motorists involved in road accidents aged 18-30 (44,821), under 18 (8,884), from 31-40 (39,885), 41-50 (26,516) and over 50 (18,226),” he said.
