RIYADH – Experts have said nearly 40 percent of citizens have negative attitudes toward the law due to what they described as general ignorance and a culture that does not hold violators accountable, Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Saturday. Citing the Kingdom's traffic laws as an example, the experts said traffic laws are not respected because they are not available in print for citizens to read and act accordingly. “Bad behavior is caused by ignorance of the dangers involved, lack of punishment or because there are no monitoring bodies. Society lacks the necessary guidance to follow the law and deterrents for disobeying the law,” said an expert. He pointed out that some universities ban smoking but students smoke on campuses because the law is never enforced. "Teachers have become apprehensive of students these days and they only have the authority to dock students' grades. However, many students disregard such moves because they rely on personal connections to get admitted to university,” he said. “If the laws are not taught to the public, then punishment cannot be applied on those who aren't aware of the law in the first place.”
