They did not want to be photographed by the hidden cameras and become the first victims of the advanced traffic monitoring system.

Many drivers told Arab News their fears of getting a ticket, particularly as the month of Ramadan was around the corner.

They did not want to pay a fine as they needed all their money for Ramadan and Eid shopping.

Some young drivers said they exchanged text and BlackBerry messages to warn each other.

Fehaid Al-Shahrani said he received a message from a friend on Sunday morning saying that he was looking for the Saher cameras.

He added that he heard rumors 34 mobile cameras were operating in the western part of Jeddah alone.

“My friend suspected that many unmarked cars parked on the roads carried Saher cameras and so he drove at a slow speed to avoid tickets on the very first day of the system’s operation,” he said.

Al-Shahrani also noted that motorists were looking out for the cameras and seemed to be afraid of being photographed.

Saudi citizen Faris Al-Hobni said he was rather scared of the new system because he did not have spare money to pay any fines he might receive.

“My salary is not enough to meet my monthly expenses and every month I am forced to borrow from friends. So I have no choice but to observe all the regulations. I have decided not to speed or run any red lights under any circumstances so that I am not issued a ticket,” he told Arab News.

Musleh Al-Rifaei, another Jeddah driver, said since the Saher system was implemented he decided not to speed anymore.

“I will look for signboards indicating the local speed regulations and drive at 20 km less than the speed limit,” he said.

Arab News also met people who were not aware of Saher. Felaih Al-Manuri, 65, said he had never heard of the system nor did he care for it.

“Let them issue tickets as they please,” he said.