(MENAFN - Arab News) Brig. Mohammad Al-Qahtani told a local newspaper that the number of traffic violations in Jeddah reached 1.616 million last year, 988,502 of which were committed by Saudi citizens.
He said that traffic accidents reached 106,604 last year, including 103,886 cases of damage, 2,219 causalities, and 499 deaths.
Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed has declared March 7 as the day when new rules for the entrance of trucks to the city takes effect. A special committee will be formed that includes more than 10 departments and bodies to organize traffic flow and the entrance of trucks as well as easing congestion.
Meanwhile, Dammam traffic sources said that 6,000 cases of traffic light violations and concealing number plates have been recorded in less than a month. Other general traffic law violations amounted to more than 15,000 cases in the city, out of 80,000 recorded in the Eastern Province, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported.
The same sources explained that a campaign had been organized until mid-April, involving 10 checkpoints located on main sites and streets in Dammam for six hours daily to control traffic violation.
Other violations involved speeding, covering windshields, drifting, changing car features, using a mobile phone while driving and not wearing seat belts. Most traffic accidents that lead to death are the result of speeding and red light violations.
The campaign resulted in booking of 430 vehicles, about 30 percent of which belonged to restaurants, printing presses and food and oil companies. The features of these vehicles had been changed by covering the whole body with advertisement posters of their products. Any poster on the vehicles should not be more than 50 cm by 50 cm, traffic regulations stipulate.
In addition to these violations, the campaign included cracking down on the general condition of the vehicle, in particular battered vehicles, which resulted in booking 250 battered cars.
The Dammam traffic department said that all drivers must comply with traffic regulations for the safety of all road users, adding that a number of Saher cameras have been installed on the main streets of the city.
