Driving in this country will drive you insane. Major cities in Saudi Arabia are geographically huge thanks to restrictions on the number of floors in residential buildings. And the public transportation system is a joke so the only way to get around is by car. And there are a plenty of them. Now having to deal with the stress of daily life is clearly not enough. But commuting to and from work and other places has become a source of extra income for medical establishments.
The problem has two parts: Roads and the people. How is it that an oil-producing country seems to have the worst quality asphalt? Roads are constantly being resurfaced. And not only that, they are taking far too long to do the work. Resurfacing the road between my house and the university took over two years — and I am talking about a stretch of road barely 5 km long.
As for the people, they are the major part of the problem since years of lax traffic law enforcement has shown them that the traffic police are always, if at all, after somebody else. Everyone who drives in the Kingdom knows what I am talking about. I only hope the 15 percent pay rise carries with it a 15 percent performance increase.
It is tragic that a road accident soon becomes the reason for more accidents; people think an accident is some kind of show and they stop anywhere — in the street, on the sidewalk — and pour out of their cars in hopes of a smashed skull or a mangled limb which they could Bluetooth to their friends. Do these people lead such dull lives that such things are entertaining?
Our roads are crowded, much too crowded. And Ramadan had the bizarre effect of making everything worse. A 20-minute drive to and from work on a regular day used to become a one-hour drive in Ramadan.
How about a law that prohibits anyone under 20 from driving unless they pass a mental test? Give them a permit, but make sure they understand the responsibility that comes with it. Everyone has to be responsible for their actions; give exemptions and the law becomes a joke.
I had a so called “accident” with a 16-year-old boy when I was in college. What the boy was doing on campus at 11 a.m. on a school day, I don’t know. Why he didn’t have a driver’s license or even an ID card, I don’t know. What I do know is that when the police arrived, it was obvious that he was 100 percent in the wrong and that is what the officer in charge told me before we went to the station. By the time we got to the station, however, the boy was talking to the officers as if they were old friends. Suddenly, the accident report was changed to “equal responsibility.” “Vitamin Vaw” was — and is — as potent as ever. “Vitamin Vaw” for those who are unfamiliar with the term is Arabic slang for someone influential who can pull strings for you, get you out of jam. I’m sure you get the idea.
No one lives forever, and having the knowledge that God will judge us for every little thing provides some comfort at times when it seems you are unable to get your rights even though someone else has done you wrong.
(Majid Al-Madi is a Saudi writer. He is based in Riyadh.)