JEDDAH: Road safety experts rated Saudi roads as among the world’s most dangerous at
a recent conference in Abu Dhabi highlighting road safety in GCC countries. On
average 19 road fatalities occur every day in the Kingdom.
Zeina Nazer, secretary-general of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Arabia,
said there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of fatalities this year.
This has resulted in the government spending over billions of dollars in remedial
costs.
Despite several measures and initiatives taken by the government to enhance
traffic safety, experts say Saudi roads continue to carry the title of being the most
dangerous in the world.
Experts blame reckless and aggressive driving by motorists for this and say that
most car accidents are caused by young drivers owing to a lack of proper driving
training and a careless attitude.
“Saudi Arabia spends $ 6 billion per year on the management of car accidents
and $250 million per year on medical care for those injured on Saudi roads,
while 19.1 deaths a day on average makes the Gulf country among the most
dangerous in the world for drivers,” said Nazer at the conference.
“It is really a matter of lack of discipline, and no doubt better enforcement of
speed limits and traffic laws would help,” said Glenn N. Havinoviski, P.E.
Associate Vice President, Transportation Systems Director, Middle East
Operations, Iteris, Inc.
“When you see people turning left out of the far right lane and traffic cutting
through parking lots and frontage roads, there are clearly some issues with
discipline, but there is also the issue of enforcement. Live police enforcement, as
opposed to just cameras, is helpful. There needs to be an effort to really manage
safety rather than just lumping safety and security together with technology.”
Havinoviski says whether there needs to be stricter driving schools or regular
testing for drivers when they renew their licenses, there really needs to be a
culture of safety introduced in KSA.
Reports from the World Health Organization say that Gulf residents are seven
times more likely to die in a car accident than UK residents.
Nazer mentioned that the Saudi Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of
Interior have implemented major phases that will help in saving lives and
reducing traffic congestion.
“The automated traffic violation administering and monitoring (ATVAM)
project is currently deploying advanced digital photo citation systems at 1,600
intersections in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Tabuk and Qassim to cite red-
light and speeding violators,” said Nazer.
She added: “A shocking absence of driver lane discipline and failure to properly
use turn signals and obey traffic lights amplifies the frequent stress and danger
of driving in the GCC.”
“The infrastructure to me is not the problem but I see in urban areas that
lane markings and the operation of traffic signals could be improved,” said
Havinoviski. “Without clear lane markings, roads can be haphazard to travel on.
People driving off road to avoid congestion, which I've seen in Jeddah, is another
example of bad behavior.”
