JAZAN — The road linking Ahad Al-Masaraha and the surrounding villages north of the governorate has been considered a death trap for motorists as a large number of traffic accidents take place on this busy 20-km road due to broken asphalt, deep potholes and dangerous curves. Residents of villages such as Jaadiya, Hajnaba, Jaroub, Makhshaliya, Sharja, Haliya, Habjiya, Zabara, Jamie and Zubaidiya have called upon authorities to take immediate measures to repair and expand the road and place safety instructions to reduce accidents. Ali Mohammed Hamidhi still remembers the death of his sister in a traffic accident as she perished on the road while going to Jazan University. "She was the victim of the unsafe road that is replete with potholes and lacks safety guidelines," he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. He said most motorists fear to travel on this road and hope to negotiate it without encountering possible fatal accidents. "More than 10,000 people who live in villages north of Ahad Al-Masaraha have called upon authorities to repair the road, which has become a major accident zone," said Emad Mubaraki. "The road becomes more dangerous during the rainy season," he added. Mubaraki said potholes on the road were damaging vehicles. "Lack of street lights and presence of dangerous curves are other reasons for the growing number of accidents." He emphasized the need to repair the road as quickly as possible because fatal accidents take place on the road almost daily, causing loss of precious lives. "Accident victims suffer a lot of due to absence of an office of Red Crescent Authority in the governorate," he added. Ahmed Qahel also highlighted the dangerous condition of Ahad Al-Masaraha road. "Motorists who take this road are considered among people who are lost and those who return from the road safe are considered as newly born. "We expect it would be replaced by a one-way road with a divider," he said, adding, that it should be provided with streetlights to ensure traffic safety and security. "This is a small road and its length would not exceed 20 km," said Qahel. Mohammed Al-Qufshi, resident of Hajnaba, criticized authorities for not taking any action to repair this vital road even after occurring several accidents that killed and injured several people.
