It is a shocking thing to read that already 5,179 people have been killed in the Kingdom this year as a result of traffic accidents. The figure, according to Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi, head of the National Commission for Traffic Safety, is a dangerous precedent in the history of traffic safety in this country.
Dr. Al-Ghamdi warned both the public and the government of a worsening situation that should set alarm bells ringing all over the country. The most frightening thing in this tragedy is that all measures and remedies that have been taken so far to solve the problem have proven insufficient.
In other words, the problem will only grow worse unless conclusive steps and a totally new approach are adopted.
The chaotic scenes on our streets have reached such a stage that even the threat of prison and its application is not enough to deter reckless and irresponsible drivers, especially young men.
If things continue in the same vein, Saudis may very well find themselves threatened with extinction. Our hospitals are full of people injured in road accidents and many of those who have survived will be severely handicapped. Parents are no longer able to control their children who roam the streets in speeding cars, threatening their lives and the lives of others.
Many of our streets have become race tracks on which young men gather to perform dangerous feats in their cars, disturbing residents and threatening both motorists and pedestrians.
I have personally experienced frightening moments while driving or sitting in a car with a colleague or friend, finding myself thinking this may be my last ride. I am now fully convinced that even if we keep sending those reckless young men to prison, it will not be enough to deter them from threatening peoples’ lives.
The solution, as some have suggested, is sending all those caught joyriding or driving recklessly in a manner that threatens others to serve in the military. Keeping them behind bars will cost the state a lot of money.
Send them to serve in the army for a certain period of time — six months for example — and let them learn to dig trenches, build bunkers, learn to deal with barbed wire and train them to perform some job, preferably something to do with driving and automobile maintenance.
I am sure this would pay off. Let us try it and after some time conduct an evaluation to see how things have changed. People are fed up with the behavior of these irresponsible young men. One more thing, of course there should no exceptions, no discrimination between one offender and another and absolutely, no wasta.
