RIYADH, 30 August 2006 — The Saudi joyrider used to be a cigarette-smoking unemployed high-school dropout making dangerous show-off maneuvers with his car at secret meet-ups with like-minded amateur stunt drivers.
Today, the Saudi joyrider could very well be a clean-cut college educated professional releasing some steam by doing “doughnuts” in parking lots and streets at these same congregations.
Now the proponents and critics of this dangerous game have taken their efforts to the Internet, setting up websites and chat boards to laud or decry the joyriding hobby.
The enthusiasts of amateur stunt driving will use SMS messaging to arrange to meet fellow drivers for impromptu or arranged contests of driving abilities, which involve a lot of speeding, tire-squealing and macho posturing.
Several Arabic-language websites have been set up for joyriding hobbyists to share their passion for leaving rubber on the pavement. These online forums often include YouTube-style video clips — sometimes even with an edited soundtrack using do-it-yourself software — where visitors to the site rate and discuss the moves portrayed. Joyriders will even use the website to RSVP their attendance at undisclosed locations, or inform fellow daredevils of their absences.
On the other side of the joyriding divide are concerned families, who have set up their own web presence to lambaste the dangerous drivers and what they say is lackadaisical enforcement of road rules by the police. These sites post images of fatal accidents and passages from the Holy Qur’an. One video shows a joyrider hitting a concrete barrier and bystanders rushing to his aid; the video stays trained on the man until he dies despite efforts to revive him with CPR.
The joyriding phenomenon in Saudi Arabia was recently featured on the BBC, showing young Saudi men in fancy sports cars and bikes driving at high speeds and skidding tires through narrow streets.
