Mohammed Al-Sudairy Okaz newspaper We should all be supporters of the Saher system which has been implemented by the directorate general of traffic in streets and highways in a number of towns and cities in the Kingdom to monitor over-speeding by digital cameras. While we support the directorate in this national project which is aimed at reducing traffic accidents and saving lives and property, we disagree with it in the mechanism of its implementation. Saher system focuses on a single element of traffic safety which is over-speeding. We do not deny the importance of this element but it is not the only aspect of traffic that needs to be addressed. The insistence of the traffic department to conceal the Saher cameras causes us to doubt the objectives of the system. The department should be planting cameras to check over-speeding drivers but should simultaneously make efforts to change the behavior of drivers to make them responsible and law abiding. We notice that vehicles slow down to the speed limit just before reaching the locations of the cameras and speed up once they cross them. Some drivers conceal the car plates, cover them with mud or install fake ones. Why the youth would do this? The answer is simple. The system did not give much attention to changing the driving habits of the young men. It only scared them by fines for violations, not more. We agree that fines are a means of imposing discipline. We hope that the Saher system would also cover all streets and side roads. Before this, the traffic department should teach drivers how to respect the traffic rules. The department should not allow old and pollutant spewing cars to roam our streets. It should also implement cultural programs to change the irrational behavior of some drivers. The basic element to success is changing the driving habits. You can not ask people to give up their old habits all of a sudden. This should be preceded by awareness campaigns. Enlightening campaigns should have been made before the Saher system was introduced to explain its importance in reducing the number of accidents and thus saving lives and property. The traffic officials should have visited schools and universities to talk about the significance of the system. They should have also met with the youth wherever they assembled. We acknowledge the importance of Sahir but say once again that it is not the only solution to our traffic problems. The traffic policemen should not limit their work to issuing driving licenses, car plates, car registrations and collecting fines. They should make strenuous efforts to organize traffic and educate drivers to respect the traffic regulations and be law abiding people.
