Many Saudis this week were shocked, horrified and saddened over the news that Al-Jouf University Director-General Ismael Al-Bishri’s five children were killed in an auto accident while returning from Dubai.

Two daughters and three sons died when a truck traveling in the opposite direction on the highway attempted to pass another vehicle and struck Al-Bishri’s car head-on.

We only know of these deaths because of the prominence of the Al-Bishri family but sadly people are unnecessarily killed daily on Saudi roads. Their deaths have made little impression on Saudi and expat drivers who continue to flout traffic laws with impunity.

The traffic department reported that 6,458 people were killed in 485,931 traffic accidents in 2013. That is 18 deaths a year, or one death every 1½ hour. Compare that to Egypt, which had 12,000 road deaths between 2009 and 2012 and Jordan with 694 deaths in 2011. The United Kingdom, which includes Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, recorded 1,754 fatalities in 2012.

The Kingdom altogether suffered SR13 billion in property losses. There has been some improvement in traffic safety. Patrol officers are spending more time ticketing motorists who park illegally. And Saher has dramatically curbed the red light jumpers. Traffic police also have cracked down on “drifters” although that is an obvious enforcement issue given drifters’ total disregard for safety. Yet beyond these modest gains, we have seen little in the way of the government tightening its traffic laws. We managed to curb the terrorist threat inside our borders within a year, but we have failed to rein in traffic terrorism in the past decade.

The collateral damage is incalculable. About 10 years ago, I lost three cousins and the husband of one of the cousins in a road accident. My aunt never fully recovered emotionally or physically from the deaths of her children and son-in-law. And to be honest, everyday when I make the trip with my driver on the Makkah-Jeddah Highway I wonder whether I will return alive.

There is no question that we need more traffic officers on the road and be given the authority to pull moving violators over and ticket them. This means such obvious dangerous driving like turning left from the third lane, using the road shoulder or inside median lane to pass, speeding and making U-turns by crossing over elevated medians. Vehicles with inoperative taillights and brake lights are a particularly problem at night. Also equally troublesome are the use of cellphone while driving and failing to use seatbelts, particularly with children in the car. One of the most horrific sights is seeing children standing on seats with their heads poking through the sunroof.

One shameful secret these days is the reluctance of traffic officers to cite Saudis because some motorists pull out their tribal credentials to shame and humiliate police officers attempting to do their job. If there ever were a need for a zero tolerance policy to curb abuses against police officers, this would be one. Simply give patrolmen the ability to arrest and handcuff drivers who refuse to sign a citation.

A country’s compassion for its people is often judged by its traffic safety record. Saudi Arabia has an abysmal safety record. Saudi and expat drivers alike share the blame for the sorry state of our traffic system. Expat worker recruitment agencies are notorious for hiring drivers without even a hint of driving experience. And the traffic department’s driver’s licensing system is more about processing licenses than it is to determine whether individuals are qualified to get behind the wheel.

Further, while road infrastructure has improved in metropolitan areas like Jeddah, signage, traffic signals, and exit and on-ramps continue to be substandard and confusing to many motorists.Only an overhaul of the road system, enforcement philosophy and how we license drivers will overcome the deplorable traffic conditions in Saudi Arabia and ultimately save lives.

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