Saher has been implemented in major cities in the Kingdom over the past few months, but citizens and expatriates are split on the issue. Some look at it as a financial shake-down while others view it as a way to calm drivers — Saudi and expatriate alike — who often show utter disregard for the rules and virtually no respect for other drivers.
The arguments about the system has enticed many people to come up with new ideas to avoid the punishing snapshots from ever-watching cameras. Others have decided to be careful, at least around areas where the cameras — some of which are fixed while others are attached to mobile units driven by traffic cops — are likely to be watching them to grab their license plate numbers in the event of a violation. Tickets are automatically issued through linking the vehicle’s license plate to a driver’s license, which is done when owners register their vehicles with the Interior Ministry. Vehicle owners must also register with the Saher website if they want to be notified by SMS when they have been issued a ticket. If drivers do not register with the Saher program to be informed, they may only learn of fines when they go to renew their licenses or attempt to leave the country. Fines increase if they are not paid within 30 days.
Saudi youths have started carrying maps showing the latest known locations of Saher cameras, particularly the fixed cameras. Some drivers are attempting to thwart cameras by covering their license plates or painting over them in ways that makes it difficult for the cameras to read the numbers.
In Madinah, a young Saudi reportedly was so embittered by being ticketed that he stood a distance from the camera to warn other drivers of the trap. One camera was destroyed in Makkah.
Psychologist Dr. Waleed Al-Zahrani said some of his patients have complained that they have been caught because there aren’t enough speed-limit signs.
“They may be driving at 80 kmph only to discover later that the maximum speed on that particular road was only 70 kmph,” he said.
He said that some people have become so paranoid about being ticketed that they check every morning to see if any tickets have registered to their driving records.
“Ignorance regarding the location of the Saher cameras has increased the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty of many of my patients,” he said, citing one instance where a man earning SR3,500 a month received SR3,000 worth of tickets in a month.
One newspaper reported that a couple were divorced after a husband in Al-Kharj had racked-up so many fines rushing his perpetually late wife to work that he insisted she pay for the infractions. When she refused he reportedly divorced her.
Chauffeurs and taxi drivers have also raised concerns about the system.
Shoura Council member Talal Bakri openly attacked the system, considering it a new means to collect money from citizens and expatriates.
“I am not against a system that protects people’s lives but I am against the mechanisms of its applications,” he reportedly said.
Al-Bakri pointed out that as a public-private initiative, some of the proceeds of Saher traffic fines goes to the company operating the system.
Al-Bakri also criticized the doubling of the amount of Saher fines if they are not paid on time and said many people will need two to three months in order to be able to pay the fine — considering it their responsibility to register to be informed of their infractions.
Al-Bakri concluded by asking what he considered a legitimate question: Is Saher a system to save lives or to collect fines?
