Themed “safe driving,” the campaign will run till April 14, which is expected to see participation from more than 4,000 students. The initiative aims to boost awareness among motorists on public roads and enhance social responsibility sentiments, especially among youth who commit nearly 40 percent of road accidents annually. Anass Abu Dawood, director of activities at Jeddah Education, said the campaign, a private initiative, also aimed to enhance cooperation between governmental and the private sector in order to enhance awareness in general about road accidents. Abu Dawood added that road accidents in Saudi Arabia are attributed largely to traffic rules violations. He highlighted the role of media in conveying the message and the mission to both individuals and families. Omar Mohammed Hindi, CEO of Taajeer, said as the government assumed a great role in this regard, the society in general must understand and play its role so as to create common ground in terms of discipline and cooperation including the positive attitude to such awareness campaigns. “We at Taajeer in collaboration with the Department of Education and Jeddah traffic department are launching this campaign thus targeting it for students,” Hindi added. Col. Zaid Al-Hamzi, PR director at Jeddah Traffic, said such seminars were designed to boost awareness among youth about safe driving, avoiding accidents, the negative side of speed and the total impact of road accidents on the society, as well as the catastrophic results represented by loss of lives and property annually, amounting to SR13 billion.
