The cameras monitor vehicular speed and traffic intersections 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so drivers who think that speed limits and red lights are things for others to obey will learn the costs of such faulty logic in fines.
“Hopefully the introduction of the new system will result in the drop of a very high accident rate,” said Mohammed A. Al-Harbi, project manager at a Jubail petrochemical company. “I have to commute to work on the Dammam-Jubail Highway on a daily basis. I have seen horrible tragedies on the road. I hope Saher will act as a deterrent to all those who speed on this particular highway.”
The busy thoroughfares where intersections are wired include Dhahran Boulevard, the Corniche Road, King Abdul Aziz Street, Makkah Street and Alkhobar Street.
Among the highways that will be governed by speed cameras are the Dammam-Alkhobar Highway, where speed limits vary from 100-110 km/h; the Jubail Highway, where the maximum speed is 100 km/h; and the Aziziyah Highway, where the maximum speed is 100 km/h.
The traffic police also caution motorists before turning right on a red signal to come to a complete stop, check the intersection for vehicles and pedestrians and complete the turn when it is safe to do so. Motorists who do otherwise will face fines. Drivers who fail to halt the vehicle at the “stop line” of an intersection and obstruct the pedestrian crosswalk also will face fines.
Some skeptics say that the system will only succeed if it is accompanied by aggressive enforcement for all violators.
“We have heard of erring motorists using their connections, or wasta, to wriggle out of the heavy penalties imposed on them,” said Sri Lankan executive Qutbuddin Muhammad. “Saher can only pinpoint the troublemakers on the road. It is for the authorities to really book them, levy heavy penalties on them and in extreme cases take them off the road by impounding their driving licenses. Everyone has a duty to stop carnage on our roads. Let us lose no more precious lives.”
