Adel Abdulrahman Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Employees of the company that oversees the Kingdom's traffic monitoring system known as “Saher” continue to face a hostile public upset with a system that hands out millions of riyals worth of radar-detected speeding tickets every year. Saher employees say their lives are at risk as they face constant public harassment and threats, and attacks against vehicles carrying Saher equipment. The Saher traffic monitoring system, which uses a combination of cameras and radars to issue tickets against 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. Many drivers have even resorted to the extreme and otherwise illegal steps of breaking the cameras and attacking Saher personnel. In 2010, an employee was killed while in a Saher vehicle. Humood Al-Maymoon, 24, was driving on the Taif-Riyadh highway when he was shot at as he approached a flyover, 160 kilometers from Riyadh. Al-Maymoon, a Saudi citizen, died in the attack and his vehicle caught fire. Last year, a YouTube video showing four men firing a rifle at a speeding camera went viral. Allegedly shot in Madinah, the men fire and successfully hit the camera and urge the government to end the system as it has proved financially taxing. Asking that his identity be protected, a Saher employee talked about the problems he faces. “I don't understand why people view Saher employees with such hatred. I was at a social gathering once and when one of the guests knew who I worked for, he started cursing at me and accusing me of entrapping drivers,” said S.N. Three other employees who spoke with Saudi Gazette shared S.N.'s worries. Yusuf S. said he regrets ever working for Saher and feels unsafe due to the constant harassment he faces. “Many motorists intentionally slow down when they see a Saher car just so they can get a look at the driver. It is hard to see so many people cautiously slow down and glare at you with hate. I've thought about resigning several times and were it not for the difficulties in my life, I would have resigned on the first day,” he said. “Saher is there so motorists don't speed and die in accidents. We have one of the highest rates of accidents in the world and anything that gets drivers not to speed is a good thing in my opinion,” he added. Waleed M., another Saher employee, called on the authorities to catch and punish people who target them. “It's mostly young men and teenagers. The police need to figure out how to protect us.” Psychologist Muhammad Saeed said society's acceptance of Saher has come in several stages as it directly affects their daily lives. “The objective of any law or regulation is protection before deterrence. The same applies to Saher, which many people have come to accept due to its success in slashing road fatalities and making the Kingdom's roads and highways safer.”
