Turki Al-Dakheel Al-Riyadh newspaper There has been a rather acute fear of gas following the Riyadh tanker explosion late last week. Al-Riyadh newspaper published a story about a Saudi citizen who was so afraid his gas cylinder might explode inside his house that he threw it out. The Civil Defense had to be called in to deal with the Saudi. A Saudi journalist wrote on his Twitter account that he was frightened when a gas truck pulled up next to his car at a traffic light. He wrote: “I was frightened when this truck parked next to me. If the traffic light had not turned green, I would have abandoned my car and ran away.” This fear of gas cylinders and trucks, even if it is a bit of an overreaction, is reflecting the real fear inside all of us. These trucks are moving bombs that can be easily used by terrorist organizations. Prince Muhammad Bin Saad, Acting Emir of Riyadh, talked about proposal to install a gas pipeline network in the city of Riyadh to end the need for gas trucks inside the city. Gas truck drivers continue to enter the city during peak times, breaking the law as a result. They have been spotted many times entering the city during the school rush hour. I do not know when we are going to learn from our mistakes. The explosion in Riyadh was equal to a bomb dropped during wartime. The problem is that we have a short memory to remember such tragedies. I hope we do not forget this painful event any time soon. I still remember the photo of a gas truck waiting at a traffic light next to cars full of students and employees. Do we need another tragedy to happen before we learn our lesson? At the end of the day those who are breaking the law by entering the city during peak times should be held accountable. By breaking traffic regulations, they demonstrate that they are greedy people who care only about themselves.
