This tension has now extended to workers and their companies, with employees reluctant to pay traffic fines as they drive company vehicles and having the costs deducted from their paychecks.
But as one would expect, the company owners feel that the infractions belong to their employees even if the fines are issued to the vehicles' registrants.
“We are in business to make money not to lose money,” said Thameer Ali, whose business requires him to have three company cars. “If one of my drivers commits a traffic violation it is the driver's fault. A company shouldn't acquire more fees for their drivers' mistakes.”
To remedy this problem, the Saher system offers a feature called Tamm, which registers the driver of a company vehicle as the one responsible for paying the fines. However, some have complained that Tamm is a service they must pay for.
The Saher system automatically notifies the vehicle's registered owner, which means infractions aren't automatically sent to the drivers themselves. It is up to the registrant to deal with the driver of the vehicle. This is particularly problematic for owners of car rental companies, like 42-year-old Saad Muhammad, who cannot utilize the Tamm service since a customer is the driver rather than an employee.
“It's not the car’s fault,” he said. “It's the driver's fault for speeding. Often when I asked them to pay for the fine, they laugh in my face, throw the key and leave the office — leaving me with the fine to pay.”
Ahmad Al-Otaibi, who heads the committee in charge of car rental agencies at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry said he has heard many complaints regarding the way fines are imposed through Saher, and that “Tamm should have been implemented for no fee within Saher instead of (those who want to use the service) paying for it.”
For their part, taxi drivers say they are often under pressure from their customers to take them places as quickly as possible.
“We go with our customers wishes and it causes us trouble,” said Fahim, a 26-year-old cab driver. “I hadn't faced a Saher fine myself, but my colleagues at other taxi companies who are on salary have gotten in trouble for speeding.”
