Amendments to Saher system ‘under discussion’

A former Shoura Council member has claimed that the council is currently discussing making amendments to certain contested clauses in the Saher traffic system.
The former member claims he submitted the proposal a few years ago when he was a member of the council.
“About four years ago, I submitted a proposal to the chairman, deputy chairman and other officials of the Shoura Council proposing amendments to the Saher system,” said Abdul Jaleel Al-Saif, a former member of the council.
Several religious scholars have expressed their disapproval of the Saher system, especially the practice of doubling fines for traffic violators who do not pay their fines, Al-Saif pointed out.
“I highlighted the objection of the Council of Senior Scholars over the rule that stipulates doubling fines for violators who delay the payment of fines and also suggested implementing a point-based system.
In addition, I suggested that the individual driving the vehicle caught by the Saher camera be penalized, as opposed to punishing the owner of the vehicle,” Al-Saif said in a statement.
He also insisted on the need for issuing tickets fines, as was the case before the Saher system was introduced.
“Sending a message to a violator’s mobile phone is different from issuing a violation ticket. The ticket becomes a record, while the message does not,” he said.
He estimated that the Saher system registers an average of 9 million violations worth SR8 billion annually.
The former council member recommended changes to article 76, urging authorities to assign a scale system with points assigned to violators depending on the severity of the violations.
The former member proposed that penalty points should result in a suspension period of different durations. Among his propositions are suspending a driver’s license for three months if 24 points are recorded in a single year and that his license be suspended for six months if he accumulates the same number of points the following year.
A third round of violations should result in the suspension of the violator’s license for a full year, Al-Saif exlained. “It is high time that the actual driver, not the registered owner, be held responsible for a violation,” he said.
He had also requested granting individuals the right to appeal the penalty within 30 days after receiving the message notifying him of the fine.
The security affairs committee at the council has already discussed the merits and demerits of these proposals. The committee has also discussed the mode of implementing the point system with traffic officials, a local daily reported.