Saudi- Road rage alert: 'Go slow' while fasting

(MENAFN- Arab News)  As the holy month of Ramadan is approaching, traffic police have decided to accelerate an awareness campaign warning motorists against road rage. It is common for motorists who are fasting for long hours and especially in hot weather conditions to become irritable and angry, Fawaz Al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Makkah Traffic Police, told Arab News. "However, we are warning motorists to guard against this in order to reduce traffic accidents in the holy month," he said. "Our aim is to make everyone aware that Ramadan is supposed to be a time of peace and patience and that it is not acceptable to use the month as an excuse for road rage and senseless accidents," said Gen. Fahad Al-Bishr, head of the Traffic Department. Car accidents cost the Kingdom nearly SR 13 billion annually, according to a recent report issued by the Saudi General Directorate of Traffic and the National Society of Human Rights. In 2012, traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia numbered 485,931, with 9 million traffic violations annually and 6,458 deaths. This translates to 13 deaths for every 1,000 accidents, according to the Saher website. "I think they should employ more traffic officers to enforce this initiative because if citizens see more traffic police on the streets they will be less motivated to ignore traffic laws, which leads to fighting and accidents," said Bandar Al-Ghamdi, a motorist. Agreeing, Majid Al-Jifri, another motorist told Arab News: "I think there needs to be an increased presence of traffic police on the streets of all major cities especially during peak traffic hours." A recent study at the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology has warned that if the current rise in road accident rates is not curbed, Saudi Arabia will experience over 4 million traffic accidents annually, by 2030.