“It is extremely frustrating. I have white hair and I blame it on the vicious traffic of Jeddah. People drive ignorantly and rashly, lacking discipline. Driving is the worst part of the day, and sometimes I fear I will lose my nerve,” said Hassan Hamdan, 25 years old. He added that small roads should be rebuilt as they are damaged and eroded with holes that cause unnecessary and unavoidable damage to cars and passengers.
Zaheer Khan, 24 years old, told Arab News: “I drive to the industrial area for work everyday and it is devastating. The eroded roads are distressing and I can’t buy an expensive car because I would never drive it on those barbaric roads.”
Sameer Khan, 38 years old, claimed to be distressed by the exhausting and time consuming construction of roads and highways. Everyday he spends 2 hours commuting to work because of the traffic in Jeddah.
“Already four years have passed since works started and it feels like these highways will never come up. My office is 15 minutes away but I’m easily stuck in traffic for 45 minutes or up to an hour at peak times. Now I only wish to transfer because I cannot handle fatiguing daily trauma anymore.”
Raja Sahab, 26 years old, said she would not drive in the Kingdom even if she had the chance to.
“I am so happy I do not have to drive, I pity my driver for the Zahma (traffic congestion) he faces everyday and night. The roads are a mess because there is no discipline.”
Mano Iskanian, 34 years old, complains that most drivers do not comply with driving medians causing panic on the streets. “There is no concept of using indicators. At least in Dubai the authorities are so strict about respecting road rules that you are obliged to comply. In Jeddah you may see a 12-year-old kid driving and wonder where he got a license from, but that is just another loophole. The congestion gets worse on weekends when all families are out but drivers are the ones who have to bear the brunt of traffic.”
Saher reported there is one death case every one and a half hours in the Kingdom. Last year, the number of traffic accidents reached 485,931.
