MAKKAH – Brig. Meshal Al-Maghrabi, Director of Traffic in Makkah, on Saturday kicked off a traffic awareness campaign under the motto of “Safe Driving Starts With You”. The campaign educates motorists on the importance of wearing seat belts and mainly targets at young drivers. The campaign was organized in conjunction with Saudi Aramco. Brig. Al-Maghrabi said such campaigns are vital to bringing down the country's high accident rates. He also said the introduction of the Saher traffic monitoring system in Makkah has reduced the number of accident-related deaths by 25 percent and work is in full swing to cover all of the city's major roads with Saher cameras. He added that his administration has increased the number of plainclothes officers tasked with monitoring expatriates who use their private cars to transport passengers and vowed strict punishment for violators. “Private cars used in transporting passengers will be impounded for 15 days and their drivers will be referred to the traffic punitive board,” Al-Maghrabi said.
