Saher's On The Road

The heat that makes one feel of being baked in an oven, the rules which are different from the rest of the world, the religious police who are always eyeing the seemingly wrong... life in the Kingdom can be suffocating most of the time; as if every movement is being closely watched. Now, thanks to the new traffic system, there are more “pairs of eyes” roving the streets of Riyadh.

Just this March, the World Health Organization named Saudi Arabia as the country with the highest road accident death toll in the world. According to a report by the General Directorate of Traffic, an average of 17 people die on the road of Saudi Arabia each day. That amounts to 6,485 people dead and more than 36,000 injured in over 485,000 traffic accidents in 2008 and 2009. We told you, it’s that crazy.

In an answer to this, the city has deployed more traffic police in almost every intersection of major highways and busy streets. These policemen remind motorists to wear seat belts and observe traffic lights. Some drivers are still hard headed but some with Fast and The Furious tendencies were curbed of their reckless driving. But no, they’re not the only additional pairs of eyes we’re talking about.

The Saher Traffic System has been launched and is fully functioning as of this moment. So, slow down and don’t beat that red light!

The “Saher” is a state-of-the-art traffic management system that can monitor vehicles and track them using a license plate recognition technology. It has been in development for a year and now that it’s working on almost major thoroughfares in the city, it is monitoring traffic violations as they happen.

Wow, so high-tech!

Some traffic lights are equipped with stationary and mobile cameras that record traffic violations. When a violation is committed, the system requests information from the Riyadh Traffic Center’s database and issues an automatic ticket. A minimum of SR500 fine is imposed and if this is not paid within 30 days, it will increase monthly.

The issued ticket will be mailed to the violator's mailing address (company/work's address) registered at the National Information Center of the Ministry of Interior. Expats will likely know of their violations through their office or when they apply for their exit/re-entry visa. The visa will not be granted unless the fines are paid. You can check the Ministry of Interior's website if your contact details at the Traffic Department are updated, or if you already have a penalty by now.

We’re not sure if this new system will be more of a good thing rather than bad or vice-versa but we’re hoping that it will serve its purpose of lessening road accidents and apprehending road maniacs in the streets of Riyadh. Let’s see… We’ll update you again after a month or so. Our fathers and our Hala (limo/taxi) drivers might give us insights on this since they’re the ones driving us around the city.

But always remember, with or without this system, please follow the road rules and signs for your own safety. Don’t forget that “road sense is the offspring of courtesy and the parent of safety.”

Be on your guard. Riyadh is literally watching you.

PS. No photos of the traffic cameras on our post because we're afraid that while taking a picture of it, it's taking our picture too. Hehe.