Many of us were happy with the news of a new traffic system that is to be applied by 16 traffic directorates across the Kingdom. The system includes new punishments to curb traffic violations, which are steadily increasing due to reckless driving and speeding.
According to the system, even those who speak on mobile phones while driving or throw garbage out of their windows will be punished.
The new system singles out joy riders who will face severe punishment, including imprisonment, fines and vehicle confiscation. This looks fine on paper. However, realistically speaking, it is a different case on account of wasta and the magical Saudi style of pleading, which is often used to settle disputes in a friendly manner.
To prove that the new system cannot work, I will relate something that happened to me last week in the southern city of Khamis Mushayt, which is known as a hotbed for traffic violations.
While in the waiting room of a health center with my family, I heard a car, driven by joy riders, screeching outside. After finishing my visit to the doctor, I went to the car park to find my car had been hit and pushed against another car. Some people told me that my car had been hit by one of the joy riders who had then left the area.
Luckily, I was able to trace the culprit’s house, as he lived close by. I then reported the incident to the traffic police, who accompanied me to the young man’s home. There I found his father and told him the entire story. The police asked the father and his son to come to the police station.
The son did not have a driving license, so he could not show his face to the police. Only his father and uncle came.
The father immediately began to plead for leniency. He promised to repair my car and vowed his son would never do such a thing. I agreed and the culprit went scot free. So I do not think that neither the old nor the new traffic system will work as long as the magical Saudi way of pleading for leniency remains.
