Periodically, the Saudi government comes with newer and stricter rules with regard to traffic monitoring and safety on the roads. Threats of increased fines and punishments make the rounds on social media and for a while things appear to be headed in the right direction. But only for a while.

Tragedy descends on Saudi households across the land annually as the lives of approximately 7,000 people are cut short as a result of traffic accidents. Some 39,000 more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a permanent disability as a result of their injury, according to an official of the Traffic Safety Committee in the Eastern province who added that the figure of 29 deaths for every 100,000 motorists put Saudi Arabia “among the highest on the list globally”.

These figures were revealed at yet another workshop organised by the Chamber of Commerce to study Saudi Arabia’s traffic behaviour and come up with recommendations. One of the workshop organisers added that “the committee conducted a study, which revealed that the volume of the economic losses resulting from traffic accidents stands at 3 billion Saudi riyal (Dh2.93 billion) annually.”

Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that road traffic injuries cause considerable emotional and economic pain to victims, their families and to nations as a whole. These losses arise from the dead, the expenses of treatment, which include rehabilitation and investigation, as well as reduced or lost productivity in terms of wages for those killed or disabled by their injuries, and for family members who have to take time off work to care for their injured family members.

The May 2016 figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) state that:

n About 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes.

n Road traffic injuries are the leading causes of death among people aged between 15 and 29 years.

n 90 per cent of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low and middle-income countries, even though these countries have approximately half of the world’s vehicles.

n Half of those dying on the world’s roads are “vulnerable road users”: Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

n Without action, road traffic crashes are predicted to rise to become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030.

A few months ago, the Saudi Council of Ministers amended a number of articles in the Traffic Law. Following the action, the Director of the Traffic Department, Major General Abdullah Al Zahrani, said that the decision to amend the Traffic Law was taken after extensive studies on how to enhance road safety. It also guarantees the protection of the rights of vehicle owners, enhances traffic safety and safeguards the lives and properties from mischief makers. He also urged all the people to strictly abide by the traffic rules and regulations, and warned that the Traffic Department ‘will not show any leniency in implementing new regulations, especially Article 69 of the law pertaining to drifting/stunt driving’.

All well and good in the interest of public safety. But I need to remind the honourable director that we already have a robust supply of traffic laws on the books that pertain to just about everything a motorist may encounter while on the road. We do not have a deficiency of traffic laws and rules as may exist in some other countries. What we severely lack is the application of these laws.

Simply put, law breakers have been emboldened by lack of penance and contribute to an explosion of rules being broken every moment of the day on Saudi roads while no visible means to arrest this trend is evident. From speeding to dangerous driving to discarding litter out of windows, many motorists in Saudi Arabia have no fear of rebuke. The speed monitoring system of remote camera posts (Saher) cannot be expected to be an enforcer and some enterprising drivers have found means to evade them while speeding.

Until and unless tough measures are implemented stringently, no amount of legal measure will have a chance of success. Stationing a patrol cars at busy intersections or on the side of a highway in itself will not ensure enforcement of traffic rules.

Beating the system has become a game and dodging traffic laws is no different. When the threat of punishment is not followed closely by the actual reality of doing penance, then all it amounts to is empty words.

Saudi traffic authorities should not spend too much time talking, engrossed in devising new laws. Instead, they should get on their patrol officers to execute increased efforts to ensure compliance with the law and safety on the roads. Forget the talk, it is time to walk the walk.

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@talmaeena.