Mobile phones leading cause of road deaths

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia witnesses about 1,400 traffic accidents daily resulting in 20 deaths and 35 disabilities, according to statistics released by a campaign.

Tariq Al-Ghamdi, a social activist, said vehicles driven by motorists speaking on their hand-held phones "are time bombs on the streets and public squares that may explode any minute."
Despite the measures taken by traffic officials and the strict punishments imposed on violators of traffic regulations, including a ban on talking on hand-held devices while driving, traffic accidents are on the rise.
Traffic personnel and activists agree that using hand-held devices while driving is the leading cause of traffic accidents, asserting that making punishments harsher alone is not enough and must be accompanied by awareness campaigns on the hazards and risks of violating traffic regulations.
The campaign launched by the Disabled Children's Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of Traffic, stresses the importance of abiding by traffic regulations in general, and to ban the use of mobiles while driving.
The campaign warns of the negative repercussion and consequences of traffic accidents on individuals, families and the economy of the country at all levels. It says that traffic accidents inflict loses on the national economy to the tune of SR21 billion distributed between medical care, compensation and the loss of productive elements in the workforce of the country. In addition, accidents result in the social and economic suffering of families of the disabled.
Last May, the General Directorate of Traffic established punishment for holding a mobile while driving. The punishment involves a prison sentence.
Brig. Ali Al-Rashidi, director of traffic safety at the directorate, said the violation is embedded within the list of traffic violations No.3, paragraph No.16 under the name “The use of a hand mobile while driving,” which was added to the violations that pose risks and hazards on general safety.
Sheikh Khalaf Al-Mutlaq, head of the branch of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Iftaa in the Eastern Province, issued a fatwa saying: "Using the mobile phone while driving is very risky and dangerous."