In the Kingdom, when it comes to technology, two items reign supreme — the car and the mobile phone. The freedom to roam and the freedom to chat have become inalienable fundamental rights in the minds of most Saudis, certainly most Saudi males, especially most young Saudi males. Not just inalienable but inseparable as well; the sight of a Saudi driver racing along the road, mobile glued to his ear, is all too common. See it while you can. It may soon be a thing of the past. There is a growing demand that mobile phones and cars should be divorced. The Shoura Council is currently looking at a ban.
This paper fully supports one. Saudi Arabia is a world leader in deaths caused by traffic accidents. Any move to reduce traffic accidents has to be supported — and studies show that a driver is four times more likely to be involved in an accident when using a mobile phone. A ban — if properly enforced across the board — will help make Saudi roads safer.
There are some reservations, however. Research in New York state which banned drivers using hand-held phones four years ago has shown it has not worked. In Europe too, where almost all countries have imposed a similar ban, it has had questionable impact; the sight of drivers speeding along with phone in hand is still all too common.
That is because of two little words — personal agenda. Most mobile phone users agree that the instruments should not be used while driving. But then the mobile rings and they want to know who it is and... “Well I know it’s wrong but it won’t hurt anyone just this once ...” “I won’t be long ...” “Just check there isn’t a police car around...”
There is also the issue of whether a ban should be applied to hand-held phones or to hand-free phones as well. After all, accidents are more likely to result from driving distractedly than from driving single-handedly.
None of this, however, should be used as an excuse not to have a ban as soon as possible. As for bans not working well in New York or the UK, that is probably because the penalties there are too lenient: Britain’s £30 on-the-spot fine is half the cost of a parking ticket in some British cities — and the fine has not stopped illegal parking either. If those caught had their mobiles confiscated or were banned from having a mobile or from driving for a year, that would make all the difference. Whatever scheme is devised though, it must also be properly policed.
That is the problem with so many traffic offenses in the Kingdom. But a ban will come. Just as the entire world moved to enforce the use of seat belts, it is moving, country by country, inexorably against using mobiles while driving. For many in Saudi Arabia the divorce of car and mobile will be painful. But they will just have to accept it.
It will save lives, in some cases, their own and those of their loved ones.
