RIYADH, 16 June 2007 — Saudi Arabia will be in line with 50 other countries that ban motorists from using cell phones, according to Moshabeb Al-Shahrani, general traffic assistant. “The new legislation...will explicitly ban any behavior that could cause driver a distraction or engage him from watching the road: drinking, eating or talking on the phone,” said Al-Shahrani.
According to an online poll posted by the Traffic Department, 63 percent of Saudis advocate passing such a ban.
“People just don’t seem to understand how distracting these telephone conversations are,” said Fahad Al-Dajanea, who works for the Traffic Department.
However, Saleh bin Saban, a professor at King Saud University, said that this would be a difficult adjustment for Saudis who are used to talking on their mobiles while driving. “Even police officers never stop talking on their phones,” he said.
Twenty-five European countries have enacted mobile phone bans while driving. Saudi Arabia will be the fourth Arab country to impose such a ban. The other three countries are: Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt.
