The Traffic Department in Saudi Arabia is considering criminalyzing motorists who hide their license plate numbers in order to avoid being caught by field and automation monitoring systems for traffic violations, sources told Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper.
The sources pointed out that the traffic department intends on calling upon the concerned agencies to impose a stiffer penalty and increase fines for the perpetrators of these abuses, indicating that the previous sanctions did not address this offense properly as the fines were too low.
The sources explained that hiding or removing vehicle plate numbers, according to the traffic penalties and violations’ manual, is a first category violation that results in a penalty fine of no less than SR 500, but not more than SR 900, and could result in the confiscation of the vehicle, in addition to a fine. The sources also added that fine violations for the effacement of a license/registration plate numbers in some Gulf states reaches 30 thousand riyals.
This comes amid an increasing phenomenon observed by the traffic department in the effacement of vehicle registration plate numbers, during the last period, especially by travelers, who obscure and conceal their license plate numbers in order to avoid being captured by “Saher” system.
Security and traffic officials delivered stern warnings against vehicle owners and drivers who use tape to conceal or efface some numbers and letters of their license plate or who remove their license plates altogether.
Moreover, a memo has been sent to all traffic departments across the Kingdom to refer such violations to the council specialized in settling traffic violations and disputes, in order to strengthen the penalties against the perpetrators in accordance with the system.
The director general of the Riyadh traffic department, Brig. Gen. Abdulaziz Abu Haimed confirmed earlier to Al-Eqtisadiah that his department is currently developing a plan to detect car drifting sites, pointing out the most of those who partake in drifting are not in normal conditions and usually seek unethical matters.
He also clarified that most of the cars used in drifting are stolen, and that the watching crowd goads the drifters into pursuing this reckless activity.
Abu Haimed declared that the council specialized in settling traffic violations and disputes sensed the seriousness of drifting and has therefore decided to tighten the punishment against drifters, increasing the duration of arrest to one month, in addition to imposing a financial fine on them. He also revealed that traffic security authorities in Riyadh have carried out successful campaigns against drifters in a number of popular drifting sites, resulting in the arrest of 20 drifters and impounding 78 vehicles.
Motorists warned against concealing plate numbers
