MADINA/JEDDAH: Ever since the General Administration of Traffic – the traffic police – started implementing the automated traffic control and monitoring Saher system, eight months ago, it has come under fire from many quarters. This includes from drivers and vehicle owners, legal consultants and Shoura Council members. It has been lambasted for what some see as a system that circumvents regulations, is a drain on people's savings, and has no legal basis because it was allegedly not passed through legislative channels, including the Shoura Council. The traffic police, on the other hand, have been defending the project because it aims to protect lives and property and curb traffic accidents that kill thousands every year. Religious figures and scholars, including Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, the country's Grand Mufti, announced that doubling traffic violation fines, which is applied in Saher, is “haram and usury”. The Mufti said authorities must find other easier ways to collect delayed fines. In the field the system faces challenges including some people damaging the Saher cars equipped with cameras. Although the chief of traffic police said he has not heard of attacks on Saher cars except from reports in the media, the operating company's officials have confirmed attacks aimed at disabling the cameras. Most of the attacks have occurred in Madina. Two unidentified persons, in one incident, shattered the glass of the car and the cameras at King Abdul Aziz Road before they fled. In another incident a man threw bottles of water at a Saher car while speeding along a street. He was later caught when he did it a second time. In another area, a driver collided slightly with the Saher car before he got out of his car to break the glass with a rock. And before all of these incidents, two unidentified persons set a fixed Saher camera on fire after pouring benzene over it. The attacks, some people say, are not at the system itself but the way it is being implemented.Salem Al-Zahrani said that violations are registered against the car owner despite the fact that “no less than 50 percent of cars are driven by people other than their owners”. “I own more than one car and I let my sons and brothers drive them, and I get monthly mobile notifications of violations and I don't know when or where they have taken place,” he said. “Why do I have to pay for a violation I did not commit? There are also many women who own cars who are fined without knowing anything about the violation,” he added. “It's like trying to trap drivers. There are not enough speed signs,” said Ghazi Al-Harbi. In other countries, such as in the Arabian Gulf states and Europe, electronic signs are erected and the speed limit is changed according to peak times. “Why is the operating company setting up cheap signs rather than the high-specification electronic ones?” he asked. Ahmad Al-Muhammadi said speed limits are changed all the time and drivers cannot keep track. Two sociologists said that excessive punishments for traffic violations would have negative results. Imposing fines would result in several problems including poverty and crime. Khaled Arrudaian, a sociology professor at King Saud University, said that although he was a supporter of the Saher system, he wanted a reduction in fines. He believes that most drivers in the country drive rashly, especially young drivers. “I am for strict regulations that curb rash driving that makes light of people's lives, but I call for a reduction of the penalties.”
