JEDDAH, 14 July 2004 — Young men clowning on motorcycles and with cars in the residential districts and main streets are an increasingly familiar phenomenon. Their numbers increase in vacations — especially during the summer — and so do the numbers of victims, be they riders themselves or onlookers.

The age of the riders and drivers ranges between 15 and 24 and they use any vehicle they can get their hands on.

The heady mix of danger and admiration of the crowd is what attracts one of the motorcyclists. “I enjoy the danger in motorcycling,” said Nasser. “The more dangerous it is, the more response you get from the crowds watching you. I enjoy the attention, when they clap and cheer. It makes me feel distinguished or different.”

Twenty-four-year-old Ayman, who was once a motorcycle daredevil rider, became both victimizer and victim in one blow. His party-piece was to raise the motorcycle on the back tire while speeding.

“About a year or so ago, I was on my motorcycle with my best friend sitting on the seat behind me. The back tire exploded and the motorcycle flipped over. My best friend died and I went to jail for some time until his father forgave me.” Since then he has not ridden a motorcycle even as a passenger.

Sameer, who was part of the crowd watching the spectacle, said that he comes every evening during the vacation, especially Thursdays, to “watch what the guys get up to.” He asked, “Why doesn’t the Youth Welfare Presidency do something or find a place for this sport? Wouldn’t this be safer?”

Abu Fahd, a concerned father of three sons, was appalled. “Why supervise such a useless and dangerous sport? It’s not even a sport! Everyone knows about these things and yet no one does anything about it.”

Sameer once saw one of the riders die right in front of his eyes. “I think it’s really getting dangerous. It’s taking place not just in Jeddah but all over the Kingdom. Many have written about this and nothing has been done.”

Turki Muhammad, a 17-year-old driver, stole his father’s taxi with his friends one night. First he would go just to watch but soon got excited enough to participate. His friends encouraged him and cheered him on, “especially since my father’s car was new then,” he said.

While he was driving at high speed attempting a handbrake turn, another car appeared. “I lost control of the car and the last thing I remember is the car getting really close head-on with the other car. The next thing I know I’m waking up in a hospital with a broken leg and arm. My advice to my brothers is not to try it out. Thank God my father forgave me.”

“Ibrahim enjoyed watching the motorcycles and cars on show,” said Umm Ibrahim, whose son was killed when he was a spectator watching the antics of the drivers.

“He was a high school graduate with the future before him and was my first born. He was standing there when one of the speeding cars hit him, throwing him high into the air, and sped away without even stopping. He died on the way to the hospital.”

The riders and drivers still use public roads as their playground, where the potential for death and injury is still high.