“For the first time in history, the number of traffic accidents over Eid did not exceed 500,” Brig. Muhammad Hassan Al-Qahtani, director of Jeddah traffic police, told Arab News on Thursday, crediting Saher for the improvement in road safety.

The traffic monitoring system is not fully operational in Jeddah yet because not all the streets slated to get the cameras are ready for installation.

Al-Qahtani said the system has been introduced in the city’s entrances and on expressways from the south on the Al-Sahel Road as well as from the north on the Jeddah-Madinah Expressway.

He said it was not the responsibility of directors of traffic departments to decide the speed limit.

“This is the responsibility of the traffic directorate’s department of road engineering and the ministries of transport and municipal and rural affairs. They set a certain speed limit for roads after studying their safety feautures according to international standards,” he said.

Al-Qahtani said the Saher system in Jeddah is so far being used only to monitor speeding offenses. “The system has not been used to check traffic light violations or the use of mobile phones while driving. This will come at a later stage,” he said.

He explained that unmarked vehicles are still using Saher cameras to monitor roads until they are permanently installed in streets and roundabouts notorious for being accident hotspots.

He also said the system takes into consideration the change in speed restrictions in detours and roads under construction. “We are not there to monitor violations or hunt violators for the sake of it. We are only concerned about the safety of drivers and other road users,” Al-Qahtani added.

Meanwhile, traffic authorities in Jeddah announced that they will launch the third stage of its Salamati (My Safety) traffic program next week.

“Traffic police will patrol all streets to control traffic and ensure the safety of people,” a spokesman for the department said.