Saudi Arabia: 5 more cities enforce automatic road surveillance
Will cover all cities of the kingdom by mid-2021, says General Directorate of Traffic
Cairo: Five more Saudi cities were today introduced into the use of automatic monitoring aimed at exposing reckless motorists who change road lanes without signaling as the kingdom plans to generalise the system by mid-next year, a traffic official said Sunday.
These cities are Mecca, Medina, Asir, the Northern Borders and Al Qaryat, chief of the General Directorate of Traffic, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Abdullah, told Okaz newspaper.
“The third stage of the system starts today. The use of the automatic monitoring of this infringement will cover all cities of the kingdom by mid-2021,” he added.
The new system was launched in some major Saudi cities including Riyadh last month. The second stage went into effect earlier this month.
Road mishaps
The measure aims at enhancing traffic safety standards on roads as part of the Interior Ministry’s strategy to use advanced technology to regulate traffic and curb road mishaps.
Failing to observe road lanes is an infringement disrupting the traffic and putting lives of others in danger, traffic authorities have recently said. The offence is punishable by fines ranging from SR300 to SR500.
Last January, a new Saudi traffic law went into effect toughening penalties against such road violations as driving past red signals, moving in the wrong direction, using unlicensed number plates and leaving a car without switching off the engine.