IT may have come as a surprise to some expatriates that not all Saudi insurance companies base their motor cover premiums on a driver’s record. The standard of driving in the Kingdom remains poor and we have one of the world’s worst per capita death rates from automobile wrecks. The Saher camera system, pioneered in Riyadh, may have reduced speeds, thanks to the swingeing fines that are imposed on offenders. However where there are no cameras, the speeds increase again.
Too many drivers behave as if they alone own the roads and display absolutely no consideration for other motorists or pedestrians.
Crashes all too often are the result of this dangerous conduct. Even if there are no serious injuries, the vehicles involved are often badly damaged. Such is the sophistication of modern automobile design that even a relatively mild collision can result in the car being written off.
Claiming on an insurance policy can be a long and frustrating process.
However, in many cases the next time someone involved in a wreck seeks new cover, that driver’s past record is not taken into consideration.
This is a nonsense. Insurance has an invaluable role to play in improving the safety of the Kingdom’s roads. Those who demonstrate a cavalier attitude in their driving and negligible concern for the safety of others ought to find that their behavior is hitting them where it counts — in their pocket books. Those who choose not to change from driving dangerously and being involved in wrecks, should discover that, in time, no insurance company will be prepared to offer them cover, at any price.
Since car insurance is now mandatory, a motorist who cannot obtain cover cannot legally get behind the wheel of a vehicle. If he does, then he is committing a criminal offense and could face large fines and or imprisonment.
There will inevitably be those who, finding themselves uninsurable, decide to ignore the law, just as there are still drivers who have not bothered to try and obtain any automobile insurance whatsoever. It must be hoped that the authorities will deal firmly with these irresponsible individuals, as they are uncovered by the police.
One way in which enforcement can be tightened is through the introduction of an online system, which will enable police following a suspect motorist, to call in the registration plate and be told immediately whether that vehicle is carrying valid insurance. Similar checks would be made automatically on every vehicle involved in a wreck. Prosecutions would then follow, along with severe punishment.
There could be no dispute as to the facts. If the system did not show valid insurance and the driver could not produce genuine insurance documents, then the verdict has to be guilty.
In time, it is also very likely that insurance companies will start to introduce technology to monitor the way a motorist drives. The systems are already in use in other parts of the world. Essentially a GPS unit within a vehicle will record a driver’s behavior. It will be possible to see when a motorist has been speeding or driving erratically. The benefit for good drivers will be a reduction in the amount they have to pay for their cover. The downside for could-not-care-less motorists will be a persistently high cost to obtaining cover.
For young people especially, who are least able to afford such higher premiums, this could have a major impact causing them to drive within speed limits and with more care and consideration, all round.
More controversially perhaps, the GPS data could be fed to the police.
Such a system is already being considered in Europe. What would happen is that if, for instance, a driver breaks an urban speed limit, the offense is registered automatically and ticket issued by the system.
The ultimate step in this move toward GPS monitoring will of course be the self-driving car. A number of manufacturers are currently testing prototypes of such designs, with automobiles equipped with cameras and sensors, as well as GPS guidance systems. The thinking at present is that cars will still need drivers who can override the technology, as and when it starts to get it wrong. However, the time can surely not be far off, when we will step into our vehicle, tell it where we want to go and sit back and relax with a good book. The half way house for this technology will undoubtedly be a vehicle that knows whatever the local speed limit is, and will therefore not permit its driver to break it.
Editorial: Insuring for road safety
