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.

The Five A**Holes You Meet On the Road

To survive the roads of Saudi Arabia, you have to have a good reflex. Or if you're a girl like us, a driver who has it.

In this part of the world, traffic rules and regulations are not always followed by the assholes you meet on the road. So be prepared because traveling here is a maddening rush to hell. Even if you have good reflexes, you still meet accidents on the road because even if you (or your designated driver for the day) know how to drive and you know all the traffic signs and you follow the rules, there is someone out there who doesn't and will probably hassle and cause you trouble the way the devil does in your life.

Meet the five badass people you meet in the road (and will probably meet in hell, just in case you're that bad too).

1. The Kings of the Road
These are the people who think they own the roads. Of course they own it, and they can claim it for all we care. But if these "kings of the road" go as far as involving you in accidents, they have no right to be out on the streets and driving!

These are the people who think they can push you out of their way by flashing their blinding lights at you just because they're in a hurry. Aren't we all?! And it's even sadder when they flash their lights like that when you're on a ONE-LANE STREET! And these are the people who think they can get their way by driving big, luxurious SUVs. They hog the limelight and they hog every inch of the road, including embankments, islands and sidewalks! Isn't it enough that we're drooling over their astig cars?

These includes the youths in their ATVs who inch their vehicles on every space they can see. Some of them are so unruly that pedestrians are not encouraged to be pedestrians. No crossing especially on wide streets like Olaya during the night! The sound of their roaring engines will scare you out of your wits which is their goal exactly.

Unless you're the king (as in His Royal Highness), you do not have the right to become one on the streets! Especially when it's traffic, okay?!

2. The Uneducated
They who do not know their colors and their directions. How hard can it be to memorize three colors with three different meanings? Red means stop, not "faster!" Green means go, not "wait a minute." Yellow means slow down and not "honk your horns louder to make the car in front of you go faster than the speed of light." Good luck naman kung ROYGBIV na yan diba?!

Don't go color blind on the street.

Also, don't you just hate drivers who cut you in just when you're veering left to enter the highway and then they go right a few meters after you make way for them? Or what about those who turn to the North and realize they are going the wrong way and make turns just like that. Cars are made with signal lights. We wonder why they don't use them. Ulyanin ba?! Funnier are the drivers who use them, but are going the opposite direction! Le sigh.

3. The Haters
Just when we thought "bitterness is the new angst," some old-school drivers remind us that nope, rage is still the angst these days. They shout and cuss at you even if you're not the one at fault. And they shout and cuss some more even if no one can hear them anymore. Some just stare but they stare at you like they're gonna eat you alive. We think they're expecting us to just evaporate when we're actually wishing the same to them. Some honk their horns like there's no tomorrow, as if they can make you deaf! Some stop, go out of their cars and pick a fight. Although I rarely see a boxing match on the roadside here... they're more into spitting and spatting battles. So macho! :P Oh-kay! We know it's hot in here but keep your cool, man!

4. The Talkers and Texters
They call and they text... while driving! Granted that they're such experts in driving (and they passed their driving test with flying colors [kaya siguro nila nakakalimutan ang colors ng signal lights?!]), there's no easy way to tell them this: do not use the phone when driving!

Even if you're a multitasker and a popular fellow, it's not a very good thing to call or text and drive at the same time because you lose your focus on the road. If the call is so important, then it's better to stop and take it. The topic might make you more less focused. Sometimes, some drivers forget they're on the road once they started chatting away on the phone that they stall traffic flow. Traffic na nga eh lalo pang gagawing traffic!

5. The Combo
If the ones mentioned above are bad... the combo of the four rolled into one is the worst! If they're in hell, these are the drivers who will be rotting away in the seventh circle, just before the Malabolgia, because they're violent against themselves, their neighbors, the Almighty, and nature. It's as if they want to perform the harakiri for purposes we do not know (and wouldn't want to know). They do not care about others at all as long as they reach their destination (which we're not sure where, baka sa ibang mundo na) in the shortest amount of time possible.

It's funny because sometimes, pag bwisit na tayong mga Pinoys dahil minamadali tayo ng driver sa likod natin, we always say 'Lumipad ka!' in jest... yun nga lang, mukhang sineseryoso naman ng iba ang suggestion. How can you spot them on the road? Well, you just have to keep your senses open because this kind likes to infuse the element of surprise in every corner. Be careful!!!

There are more specific kinds of drivers out there like the ones who are more inclined to make pa-cute to women riding in other cars than driving safely or the ones who park like crazy, or the ones (i.e. taxi drivers) who make harurot like this is one big drag race they need to win (feeling cast ng The Fast and the Furious!). Mabuti na lang walang alak dito noh? Good luck na lang sa DUI! Pero sabagay, kung minsan talo pa ng mga drivers dito ang lasing na drivers sa pagmamaneho! Anyway, feel free to add the kinds of drivers you know in the comment box.

All we're saying here is be careful when you're on the road. Even if you trust yourself, you cannot trust other people to drive carefully as you. Also, please don't be any of the above. Seriously, don't.

Drive safely and be careful!