The Kingdom has one of the highest rates of car accidents in the world. Some 5,000 people die in traffic accidents and no less than 30,000 are injured and maimed annually at the hands of reckless drivers. Total number of injuries and deaths in the past 25 years has been over half a million, which is equivalent to 3.5 percent of the total population of the Kingdom. Reckless driving is stated to be the leading cause of these accidents, a fact acknowledged by many Saudis and expatriates here. One such expatriate is Bertie Burger, a 55-year-old South African medical technologist at a Taif hospital. “I like everything in the country, but driving especially on the highways is a nightmare,” he told Saudi Gazette. “In many cases, a typical Saudi driver may be under age; some of whom I have seen cannot be older than 9 years, and are without a license. Their mind seems to be hovering between a cell phone conversation and the road,” he said. “Whether on a highway or a downtown, they drive not between the lanes but rather with two wheels on either side of the lane; and with the left leg on the dashboard there is hardly any concern for other's safety,” he said.“An indicator light is mostly rendered useless as one can cut into the traffic from anywhere without giving a signal,” he lamented. Burger said people here have no regrets about the way they drive. “After an accident, the driver emerges from the car as if nothing has happened,” he said. “Drivers may simply overtake from any lane at very high speed, driving as close as possible, almost taking your side mirror off,” he said. He said the car is used as a ‘toy' to ramble around streets aimlessly. He said rash driving in the Kingdom and the road rage is ironical here as no one drives under the influence of alcohol which is forbidden in Islam. “In many Western countries, drivers are under the exceeding limits of alcohol especially over weekends and you always have to be on the lookout especially in busy traffic. On highways, many accident deaths are caused by such drivers,” he said. __
