JEDDAH — Many Saudis are complaining about the decision to link Saher penalties to other government departments. This link will stop any government paperwork from being processed until the full fine is paid. A person cannot travel outside the Kingdom until Saher fine is fully paid. Citizens are calling for the responsible authorities to delink it from the Civil Affairs Department and limit the link to government paperwork related to traffic departments only. Saher, which started more than four years ago, has expanded its operation to cover major intersections. Currently Saher is installed at major intersection in Jeddah and will soon cover other major cities. Some people complained that the traffic department installed Saher at major intersections without first alerting the commuters. By doing so, the traffic department is aiming at gaining more profit from people than to increase awareness. They also called on the traffic department to change some of the speed regulations which were laid down more than 25 years ago when there were fewer highways and less cars. Muhammad Al-Shehri, a Saudi citizen interviewed by Okaz daily, said that he just finished paying SR14,000 in traffic fines, all from Saher. “I was forced to pay the full amount because I had to complete some important government paperwork. I do not know why the traffic department is linking itself to the Civil Affairs Department in the first place. Traffic police should limit themselves to traffic violations and issues related to cars. They are using Saher to earn money and not increase awareness otherwise they should have announced that they will install Saher on interjections,” he said. Waleed Al-Zahrani, another Saudi, said that he cannot understand why Saher violations is linked to everything, even traveling. He said he was forced to pay SR14,000 in traffic fine so he could travel. He added, “I remember it was SR3,000 in traffic fine. It more than doubled and reached SR14,000. If the matter of traveling was not urgent I would have not paid it. I still do not see the logic behind linking Saher with everything, even traveling. It should not be linked.” Brig. Gen. Zaid Al-Hamzi, official spokesman of Jeddah Traffic Department, said that he was not authorized to give a statement on the number of Saher cameras installed at intersections. As for Saher violations, he said that the rules and regulations are clear. He added that Saher cameras are being installed on intersections and “we will launch awareness campaign to warn motorists.” He added, “One of the main problems we are facing is the lack of awareness among Saudi youth, which is contributing to the rising number of traffic violations. Some Saudi youth remove the car plates and some hide some of the numbers all to avoid Saher. Last year, we detained more than 5300 vehicles for removing the plate number. According to law, any violating car will be seized for five days and fines up to SR500.”
