JEDDAH, 29 August — Col. Abdul Aziz Al-Obailan, director of the Traffic Department in Jeddah, has attributed the unprecedented rush at the department’s headquarters off Sahafa Street in Mushrefa district to traffic offenders paying fines.
Speaking to Arab News, he said the payment center at the headquarters is receiving more than 800 people every day.
“They are rushing to pay their fines because if they have any that are outstanding they cannot get any documents processed at the Passports Department,” he explained.
He said the overcrowding caused by traffic offenders will ease when the department introduces a new computer system allowing the public to get information by telephone.
The Traffic Department in Jeddah has opened six additional payment centers across the city, where fines can be paid for traffic violations.
They were opened after an increase in activity at counters during the summer vacation after a new rule was introduced stating that the issuance of passports, recruitment visas and exit-re-entry visas would be dependent on the payment of traffic fines.
The department registers more than 90,000 violations in Jeddah each month, with an average of 3,000 every day. Running red traffic lights, parking violations and driving in the wrong direction in one-way streets were the main offenses.
