Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — Universally, yellow traffic light means slow down, but most Jeddah drivers mistake it for a sign to go faster and speed up their cars at yellow lights to escape traffic signals. What they fail to understand is that this is an extremely dangerous practice that causes disastrous road accidents at intersections.



“Slow down at yellow light? Of course not! For young drivers like us, a competition begins when the light turns yellow and we race to cross the signal!” joked a college student.



Suhaib Ali, driving school instructor, said, “Drivers are only seen slowing down at yellow light where Saher cameras (automated traffic surveillance cameras) are installed because they want to avoid fines.”



He added that it’s extremely necessary to educate drivers on the dangers of speeding up at yellow lights especially at intersections in heavy traffic areas.



“It’s vital that the traffic police should take this matter seriously to improve road safety,” he said.



Although installation of surveillance cameras at several busy intersections has improved the road safety to an extent, yet road accident statistics in the Kingdom are horrifying, most of which are caused due to negligent driving.



According to reports, approximately nine million traffic violations occur annually, leading to loss of properties worth a staggering SR13 billion.



Average of 18 deaths are reported due to road accidents every day.



Yasmin Abrar, a young college student, recalls the dreadful accident she witnessed, in which the driver who was speeding at a yellow light at an intersection, crossed the signal as it turned red, and was hit buy another car which was speeding from the adjacent lane. Both were rushed to the hospital in critical conditions.



“Just because they are in a hurry, it doesn’t mean drivers can cross red traffic lights. Why can’t they slow down at yellow lights for their own safety?”



Abrar suggested that government must hold nation-wide road safety campaigns in order to spread awareness against this issue.



Since social media is gaining popularity in the Kingdom, the government can use that as a platform to caution drivers against signal violations to improve road safety.