Pedestrians are equally to blame for many of the Kingdom’s road accidents, several drivers have said in the wake of an increased number of accidents occurring thanks to jaywalking.

Motorists are often forced to pay blood money if the accident produces fatalities. In fact, courts seldom find vehicle drivers innocent in road-related incidents.

“How can a motorist be blamed for hitting a pedestrian crossing a highway at a random point?” asked Haneef Rahman, a local resident.

Many motorists, however, concede that the blame cannot lie squarely with the jaywalker, although pedestrians can be routinely seen crossing major roads and highways at random points.

“The average speed limit on busy streets is between 60 kp/h and 80 kp/h, and yet many drivers who will have been driving at less than that speed are blamed whenever an accident occurs without investigation,” said Fahad Harbi, another resident.

“To add insult to injury, the construction of new bridges in several areas and the elimination of traffic signals in order to ease traffic flow have resulted in long stretches of roads with no pedestrian crossings,” he said.

“Pedestrians should only cross side roads, not highways,” said Harbi.