The Eastern Province police department has recorded a whopping 80,000 traffic violations since the beginning of this year, including 20,405 pertaining to the manipulation of registration plates in Dammam alone.
An official at the Police Department, who wished to remain anonymous, said Dammam residents averaged 400 violations per day and that this figure was expected to go up to 600 because of the congestion in the city, particularly during evening prayers, Taraweeh and Isha.
The official said he hoped that the region’s municipality will not grant any further construction permits for commercial complexes unless a parking lot to accommodate at least 300 cars is made available, as “This will help in easing traffic congestion that force drivers to park in restricted areas.”
Manipulation of registration plates ranked first in the list of violations followed by tinted windshields which hamper vision and which account for 11,740 violations and driving against the flow of traffic, which account for 3,360 violations, he said.
Other violations include crossing red lights (2670 violations), driving without a license (2210 violations), exceeding the speed limit (1058 violations) and joy riding (238 violations), as well as other violations related to parking, failure to fasten the seatbelt and not having one’s car insured, the official said.
Dammam records over 20,000 cases of license plate manipulation
