Saudis and expatriates have praised the multimillion-riyal Saher traffic monitoring project for drastically reducing accidents on the Kingdom's roads but questioned the way tickets were issued after it was revealed that the amount of fines paid by traffic violators last year amounted to over SR5 billion.

According to them, Saudis and expat workers on low incomes are the hardest hit. Online blogs and social network discussions described the system as a way of making revenue by draining people's income.

A high-ranking police official wishing to remain anonymous explained that if someone doesn't pay his traffic fine within one month, the penalty amount will go up automatically.

The public outcry over the doubling of unpaid traffic fines resulted last February in the Kingdom’s Grand Mufti issuing a fatwa. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh said increasing the amount of a traffic ticket over time is a form of riba (usury), which is prohibited in Islam.

Despite this clear ruling, which was published in local newspapers, the payment system is still in force.

In one case, a journalist had incurred a fine of SR300 for a traffic violation on Sept. 24 last year that he discovered by chance in the middle of October.

The fine has since doubled to SR600. He was hesitant to pay it because of a note he received saying that anyone who had doubts about the amount could visit the Saher office.

He said when he got his October salary, he decided to pay it only to discover the fine had gone up to SR800. If Saher is relying on a high-tech system they are supposed to also have an online desk to answer queries, the journalist said.

A Filipino, Rasul Abbas, told Arab News that for the first time during his 24 years living in Saudi Arabia he had to pay SR2,000 for a traffic violation committed while driving a rented car in the city recently. “The way they increase the fine is haram, as ruled by the Saudi mufti some months ago,” Abbas said.

Another office worker had to pay a total of SR3,800 (for five traffic violations) to the traffic police. He complained to a police official, but without success.

“The authorities need to review these traffic enforcement rules,” Abbas added.

Al-Watan newspaper published the story of a Saudi who rushed his pregnant wife to a hospital and getting a traffic ticket. Immediately after his wife's delivery, the man received a text message from Saher informing him about a traffic violation.

The man told the newspaper that any traffic surveillance system should be able to understand such emergency situations where human life is at stake

In another example, a Saher mobile vehicle was stationed on a street with a 70 km per hour speed limit sign to catch drivers speeding at 80 km per hour or more. According to Saher personnel, the Saher camera automatically takes a shot of all vehicles speeding beyond the 70 km per hour speed limit.

Sinawe Cali Mamao, a Filipino, suggested forming a group to raise this issue to the government. He said the group would also need some Saudis to help them. According to him, many Filipino workers on low wages like delivery boys, merchandisers and drivers, quit their jobs due to the series of unending traffic violations.

The Kingdom has one of the highest road accident rates in the world.

Official statistics show that 9 million traffic accidents annually cause SR13 billion in material loss, 18 deaths per day and one death every one and a half hours, besides injury or disability every quarter of an hour.

The number of traffic accidents last year reached 485,931 accidents, while the number of deaths reached 6,458. There were 13 deaths per 1,000 accidents. The value of material loss was estimated at SR13 billion.

A source at the traffic department said more than 2 million traffic violations had been recorded in Jeddah last year, and the fines reached more than SR400 million.

“The majority of the violators are Saudis. Foreigners do not delay their payments,” he said. According to him, Riyadh tops all Saudi cities in traffic violations.

The source said the Saher cameras were still being tampered with by disgruntled drivers, mostly young Saudis, who have no respect for traffic rules and regulations.

The source commended the Saher system for reducing the number of accidents resulting from speeding, especially on highways, and said the system had also helped in discovering a number of stolen cars and uncovering ploys of the car rental and insurance companies.