Abdullah Al-Dani Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Radar and surveillance cameras installed on different roads in Jeddah captured more than 1.8 million traffic violations, said Brig. Muhammad Al-Qahtani, Director of Jeddah Traffic.He said the surveillance cameras covering most of the roads in Jeddah perform the same tasks of the traffic policemen and that the spread of these cameras has effectively helped in reducing the number of traffic violations in the city.He said it should be understood that the prime purpose of the system was to reduce the traffic violations and not to punish the motorists. There is a significant drop in the number of casualties resulting from traffic accidents in the city, he said, attributing this to the tight and restrictive measures adopted by the Traffic Directorate.Al-Qahtani said all the traffic departments are engaged in coming up with rules and regulations to maintain safety for all members of society and cut down fatal accidents that kill 7,000 people in the Kingdom annually.Al-Qahtani said the Saher automatic traffic surveillance system has become an indivisible part of the general traffic system. The chief of Jeddah traffic police said Saher cameras have also become a key component of the city's overall security system. He said these cameras have helped in apprehending wanted criminals who threaten public security.Al-Qahtani said Saher is a big project that will cover all of the Kingdom's regions.The Saher traffic monitoring system, which uses a combination of cameras and radars to issue tickets to drivers who speed and run red lights, has not been popular with drivers ever since it was introduced on the Kingdom's roads in 2010.Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, a member of the Permanent Committee for Religious Rulings, said any act aiming at hiding the original plate number of a vehicle constitutes a Shariah violation.Many drivers have even taken the extreme and otherwise illegal measures of breaking the cameras and attacking Saher personnel. Supporters on the other hand have praised Saher for helping improve traffic safety by decreasing the number of accidents on the Kingdom's roads.Drivers who access the country's highways frequently often use reflective tape to mask their license plates and avoid paying what would otherwise be costly speeding fines.Ali Bin Abass Al-Hakami, Member of the Supreme Judicial Council, said the concealment of the plate number is an act punishable by law because it impacts security. He said the scope of this violation is evident in the fact that those who commit the violation know beforehand they are going to commit a crime punishable by law.
