Traffic police to directly run Saher system from Nov. 1

Private operator to hand over staff and equipment to ministry

  Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The private operator who has been running the Saher traffic monitoring system with the help of surveillance cameras will be handed over to the Ministry of Interior by Oct. 31, Makkah daily reported on Wednesday, quoting informed sources. The Department of Traffic will directly operate the system from now own, the sources said. They said one of the three companies operating the system has notified its employees in an official letter that the entire system with its cameras, manpower, cars and all other equipment will be handed over to the Ministry of Interior. The sources did not identify the company but said it told its employees that starting Nov. 1, all of them will work under contracts with the government but the terms and conditions of the employment will remain the same. The sources said the handover of the system to the Interior Ministry was according to plan. The company promised its employees to inform them of any new developments in due time. The surveillance cameras covering most of the roads in major cities perform the same tasks of the traffic policemen and that the spread of these cameras has effectively helped in reducing the number of traffic violations in the city, the Traffic Department officials have claimed. They said the prime purpose of the system was to reduce the traffic violations and not to punish the motorists. There is a significant drop in the number of casualties resulting from road accidents following the introduction of the automated surveillance system. The system, which uses a combination of high-performance cameras and radars to issue tickets to drivers who speed and run red lights, has not been popular with drivers ever since it was introduced on the Kingdom’s roads in 2010. Many drivers have even resorted to extreme measures, such as vandalizing the cameras and attacking Saher personnel. Drivers who access the country’s highways frequently often use reflective tape to mask their license plates and avoid paying what would otherwise be costly speeding fines. Supporters on the other hand have praised Saher for helping improve traffic safety by decreasing the number of accidents on the Kingdom’s roads.