Jeddah records appalling traffic behavior

Jeddah's traffic department has recorded a whopping 2,000 cases of motorists running red lights over a two-week period.
Lt. Col. Zaid Al-Hamzi, spokesman of the city's traffic department, said 60 percent of the violators were detected by the Saher system and the rest by security patrols. He said teenagers were responsible for most of the violations.
A total of 200 violators were arrested, detained for 48 hours and fined SR500 each.
Al-Hamzi said that during the same period, about 1,500 offenses were detected for drifting, passenger overloading, hiding of license plates, driving without seat belts, speeding, and talking on mobile phones while driving.
Statistics issued by the Jeddah traffic department showed that motorists running red lights caused 1,100 deaths in 2012, a 10 percent increase from 2011. A total of 73 percent of those killed were under the age of 35.
The traffic department has also intensified its crackdown on illegal truck drivers. Officers had stopped 300 trucks, including 100 non-sponsored trucks, and referred several illegal drivers to the Labor Office in Jeddah for legal action. Al-Hamzi urged motorists to abide by the country's traffic laws for the safety of all road users.