With the start of summer and the wedding season, many grooms and brides decorate their cars with flowers and different colors of spray blocking up to 80 percent of car windows. The sprayed car windows enhance the risk of traffic accidents.

According to Col. Mohammed Al-Qahtani, director of the Jeddah Traffic Department, traffic squads report many violations daily because of the large number of decorated wedding cars.

“Decorating the car with colors, spray and flowers is considered a violation. A fine of SR300 to SR500 is imposed. The fine will increase if the front window is also sprayed with colors. It is very dangerous and can lead to accidents. If the driver is unable to see the street well, he will be slapped with the maximum fine,” he said.

Al-Qahtani confirmed that being a groom is not an excuse to break the rules.

“Police officers have the right to stop cars decorated for weddings. The driver will be forced to remove anything added to the car. In case the bride is also in the car, we will register the violation without stopping the driver,” said Al-Qahtani.

Even though the traffic police consider it a violation, many people continue to decorate their cars and block the front and rear windows. Grooms pay large amounts of money to redesign the entire car.

Naif Battal, a wedding car designer, receives a lot of orders to decorate wedding cars every summer. “Grooms love to show off by embellishing their cars. Although it is illegal, grooms demand to color all the windows to ensure some privacy inside the car. I leave a small space open on the front window in the shape of a heart to give the driver a clear look on the road. I know it is illegal, but the driver will not be driving at a high speed anyway,” he said.

Battal confirmed that despite the recent 40 percent increase in the price of car decoration, which costs between SR800 and SR1,200, demand is still high.