The Riyadh traffic department has identified certain blind spots that are prone to traffic accidents as part of its exercise to bring down the number of road deaths by 6 percent, the director general of the department, Maj. Gen Abdulrahman Al-Miqbil, has said.

Speaking at a meeting of directors of traffic departments in Riyadh, he said the department had increased field presence of traffic officers and policemen following automation of all traffic procedures and services. The meeting discussed ways and means to raise traffic control awareness levels in the Kingdom.

Al-Miqbil said that the department had identified key spots which were accident prone and they may require some restructuring. In case of engineering defects, the department would coordinate with the Riyadh Governorate to redress the problems which are still being looked into, he was quoted as saying by local media.

If the roads were free of any engineering errors and the problem lay in poor traffic system, the department will take corrective measures, intensify field presence and handle the issue of plying of old cars firmly by applying standards and banning them from moving around on Riyadh roads, he said.

Brig. Gen. Ali Al-Rashidi, spokesman of the traffic department, said the recent meeting focused primarily on the intensification of field presence of traffic policemen.