JEDDAH, 4 January 2005 — The Public Traffic Department has emphasized the decision to ban temporary permits for all drivers under the age of 17. Brig. Gen., Fahd Al-Bishr, general manager of the traffic department, confirmed that it was forbidden to issue a temporary permit for drivers under 17.
Teenage drivers are everywhere in Jeddah and cause a lot of problems. Abu Saber, the father of five children, said, “Most teenagers on the street are like land mines waiting to explode. In the case of these teenagers, most of them are an accident waiting to happen. We hear about tough laws against these teenagers, but they are not enforced. I am a father of a 17-year-old boy and I am not going to allow him to drive in major streets until he is at least 19. I allow him to drive inside our neighborhood but never outside.”
Um Muhammad said, “My driver was nearly involved in an accident two weeks ago when I was in the car. He was driving correctly and a big SUV made a wide turn in front of us coming from the intersection. The driver hit the brakes hard and avoided a head-on collision. We followed the car and discovered that the driver was a boy about 16 who could barely see over the steering wheel. Sitting next to him was the driver who was supposed to be driving. I wonder who is responsible for this and why the family did not tell the driver not to allow such a reckless teenager to drive.”
Faisal Saleh, a 23 year-old university student, said, “It is not fair to ban all teenagers from driving. Some families depend on their teenagers because either their father is dead or they cannot afford a driver. Not all teenagers are reckless; there are old drivers who are reckless and irresponsible and have been involved in many accidents.
Police should punish those responsible without focusing on a certain age group. The age at which I think teenagers should be given a permit is 18 and a license after 21. Drivers under the age of 21 should be accompanied by adult licensed drivers.”
The police are now increasing preparations to deal with traffic violators after exams are finished. The secret police will be in places where violations are common. Police will jail violators for a week and hold the car for a month on the first offense. Punishment will increase if the offense is repeated.
