WHEN the word drifting blazes through my mind, I just clench my teeth in frustration at the sheer brazenness of our youth and the futility of the act that, in fact, yields a momentary pleasure to the self-aggrandizing person while creating a situation fraught with danger. And the problem is growing here rather than abating. I can come to only one conclusion when it comes to the growing drifting problem in our streets, and that is the traffic department is a mute spectator or is just helpless in tackling it effectively. Drifting is a problem that is getting out of control and, by time, drifters are getting more dangerous and bolder in defying the rules of the road. Despite police efforts to control this problem in our streets, it seems that whatever strategy authorities employ to solve it, or at least control it, is not working. We have gained a reputation worldwide that our streets is one of the most dangerous in the world, all thanks to the reckless drivers and drifters — with both ironically following the rule to a T — that all rules are made to be broken. This show of scant respect for the rules of the road has been oft-repeated and highlighted worldwide by the media and people, who after their stay here, recount the various tales of unbelievable actions that they have seen or encounter on our roads. Even American TV presenter Jay Leno had a field day in his Tonight Show when he beamed to the world the clip of a group of Saudi youth changing tires while the car is balanced on two wheels and traveling at a speed of 60 kph. Leno took off on the event by stating that there's no need to pull over to swap or change tires when you can just pop up on two wheels and keep moving. He even said this was a novel way of changing tires, especially if you are in a hurry and need to fix a flat, just go flat out on the two good wheels while getting the other flat fixed! Sometimes I just want to get inside the minds of these youth to see what they are thinking when they drive at a speed of 180 kph and then pull the brake to spin the car out of control. Well, it is not really out of control as these youth manage to keep the car steady in a spin without hitting the sidewalk or getting off the road. Something that a professional stuntman does for a living. In Saudi Arabia, it is the unemployed and uneducated who do it for, what I would say, "not living". These youth are on the verge of committing suicide each time they practice drifting in the middle of the road and between cars. They have organized clubs and secret communities, copying the ones we see in movies, which show such clubs in Japan and America. A normal street that people use to commute can turn into a dangerous street when these youth use it for drifting. They find practicing these dangerous move more exciting, especially when they send their cars spinning between innocent drivers, putting the lives of others in danger. Everyone is responsible to stem this growing problem — starting with family supervision, schools' disciplining, and authorities' strict legislation and stiff punishment. All in all with the traffic department practicing strict enforcement and complete governance. The recent incident where a reckless drifter in Abha crashed into the side of the road killing three and injuring three others who had come to watch the drifting activities, is still fresh in the minds of many. What is sad is that the location where the accident took place is known to be dangerous and monitored by the police. Where was the police when these reckless youth were drifting? The impunity of these drifters is evident as they chose the very place the police frequent to practice this dangerous art knowing fully well that what they are doing is against law. It looks like these drifters are always outsmarting the police and are three steps ahead of them. Three years ago, two Saudi youth died a horrible death when their car overturned multiple times on road while drifting, and both were thrown out of the car and to their death. That incident was the talk of Riyadh at that time. Authorities promised swift action at that time, but it was ink on paper as these drifters continue to defy the authorities. A circulating clip revealed the reckless youth not only broke the law but thumbed their nose at the authorities. When a traffic officer in a cruiser entered a street where drifters were practicing their reckless activity, I thought the youth would escape helter-skelter when they see the authority. Instead, I was in for a shock, as the clip ended with the officer being chased out by the group of youth, with one of the youth even going to the extent of bumping the police car. If that is not defying authority then I do not know what is. They now have a website to showcase their clips of dangerous moves and even those youth, who follow the narrow path defined by law, are getting affected by it. These so-called "drifting heroes" have fans who help set up website under their names, adding to a growing number of people that contribute, in some way, to the popularity of this dangerous activity. I do not know what countermeasures can be or is being taken against it, but I am sure that whatever action is being taken, it is to no avail or very poor against the growing menace of drifting. Because, the result now is we have more drifters and more fans. What we need is novel and new ways to overcome this problem, since traditional ways or rules have failed to curb it. In my opinion, punishment may not be enough, for it seems not to have deterred them. Maybe channelizing the energy, which our youth seems to have too much, could be an option. The least that can be done is to specify special places for them to practice it under supervision. Also set instructions that a drifter may not be able to practice this sport unless he wears protective gear. We should turn this dangerous stunt into sport that is governed by rules. And as in sport, in case of accidents, there should be a special medical team on standby to provide help during all events and practice. All this should be done under the supervision of the traffic department. Who knows, by directing their skills into a competitive arena we may see heroes and champions in car racing or drifting championships. We will be able to pull them away from the streets to regularized tracks with various levels of difficulty while simultaneously making our roads safer. As for those who still will drift in major streets, the authorities should slap them with the toughest punishment possible as they have no excuse anymore with the existence of a special arena for this sport. The traffic department may not agree with this solution, but if it means that the number of death and injuries to limbs drop and the absence of this dangerous phenomenon from our streets is evident, then they should consider it. — The writer can be reached at [email protected] Twitter:@anajeddawi-eng
