Brig. Gen. Muhammad Al-Qahtani said the number of accident-related deaths and injuries in Jeddah witnessed a substantial decrease within the first year after Saher was launched in 2010.
“There has been a 35 percent fall in deaths and a 26 percent drop in injuries during 2011 compared to the previous year. The percentage of damage caused to vehicles and properties also witnessed a decrease of 38 percent,” he said.
Speaking to Al-Eqtisadiah, Al-Qahtani said the introduction of Saher has led to change in behavior of motorists. “It has been noticed that drivers are observing traffic rules more after Saher’s launch. This resulted in the reduction of the number of traffic violations, such as speeding and running traffic signals, substantially,” he said. Saher aims to reduce the number of accidents, organize the smooth movement of traffic and facilitate the implementation of traffic laws through automatic penalties for violations at key intersections. The fine doubles 30 days after the penalty is registered. The system depends on the data of the Ministry of Interior’s National Center for Information. It notes the car number on the plates and from the database ties the violation immediately to the owner.
According to Brig. Gen. Al-Qahtani, the traffic department in Jeddah has scored excellent performance results in implementing Saher. “We have realized the goals of the first phase of successful implementation of the system. This phase focused on ensuring safety of traffic movement in the city for a full year, by putting the emphasis on monitoring speeding and cutting red signals,” he said.
The traffic chief thanked Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed for their keenness and concern that enabled his department to make this remarkable achievement.
Meanwhile, the latest statistical report from the traffic department showed Saher contributed substantially in bringing about positive changes in the conduct of road users. Most important of these changes is a reduction in the average speed of vehicles and consequent decrease in the number of accidents. Road users are now more careful and adhere to speed limits, especially on roads where the maximum speed limit is 120 km per hour, the report pointed out.
According to the figures, Saher was also instrumental in apprehending several criminals involved in vehicle theft and illegal activities. Several vehicles were taken into custody and the authorities concerned are completing necessary legal procedures with regard to the crimes involving these vehicles.
Saher, which can monitor vehicles and track them using license plate recognition technology, was launched in the Kingdom for the first time in Riyadh in April 2010. It was introduced in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah in the second phase in August 2010. So far, the system has been introduced in eight cities, and has proved to be an effective deterrent to reckless drivers.
Statistics released by the traffic directorate earlier indicated that 2 million accidents took place in the Kingdom during the past five years, resulting in 30,000 deaths and 177,000 injuries. However, after implementing Saher, all these cities saw a big drop in the number of accidents and human casualties.
According to statistical figures released by Saher a few months ago, the Saudi economy annually loses about SR13 billion due to traffic violations and accidents, which kill a person every 90 minutes and injure or cripple another every 15 minutes. There are 16 accident-related deaths in the Kingdom every day, and this constitutes a rate of one death every hour and a half. This is in addition to average 96 people injured in road accidents daily.
