AHSA: Bus drivers who transport women students in the Eastern Province are complaining about the behavior of traffic police who they say are overly zealous in handing out fines at checkpoints at university and college entrance gates. “They have treated us badly for years, but recently they've been getting a lot worse,” one driver complained. “Out of all foreigners working here, we should be given utmost respect because of the security and social roles we play.” Drivers' complaints, another said, consist in “constant fines because of tinted windows or curtains used to block out sunlight, or because the students ask for them for privacy”. Driver Saleh Muhammad said that the fines keep coming sometimes even after they have removed window tinting and curtains. “They fine us for things related to mobile phones and names on the back of vehicles that are against regulations,” he said. “We buy the buses on installments, and we can't continue working with all these fines that sometimes amount to half of our earnings.” Ahmad Hussein added that he and fellow drivers already suffered enough in their work because of “young, reckless motorists who chase buses carrying women”. The regional head of the Traffic Department, Ali Al-Suwailim, said that officers are “only carrying out their orders”. “Fines are only given for vehicles that have tinted windows covering 70 percent or more of the vehicle's glass,” he said. As for murmurings of rudeness and maltreatment, Al-Suwailam said: “You can't keep everyone happy all the time.” The College, University and Institute Administration told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that they have also become concerned that checkpoint hold-ups are causing the late arrival of students to lectures, particularly in the morning, when “lateness has become an almost daily occurrence”. Parents of students, meanwhile, say that there are simply not enough transport facilities. “The Education Administration and universities and colleges don't have enough buses, and we've had to bring in coaches and minibuses at our own expense,” one parent said.
