‘Saher errors: 150,000 Saudis face travel ban’

Suaad Al-Shimrani Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — An error in Saher traffic system has resulted in a travel ban on 150,000 Saudis for unpaid fines. Shoura Council member Maj. Gen. Nasser Al-Otaibi said Saher has revealed that there were more than SR150,000 in unpaid fines on motorists. “We have received complaints from some of the drivers in question saying they were fined for violations they have not committed and in places they have never been to. The drivers fined were both Saudis and non-Saudis,” said Al-Otaibi. He added there must be another system in place to scan through the violations recorded by Saher. “Technical error are bound to happen but without a system to manage and tackle these problems many drivers will be detained for no reason. During a Shoura Council meeting I have proposed to form an unbiased committee to look into the violations recorded before issuing notices,” said Al-Otaibi. He also said notices should not be issued until the violations recorded have been scanned by the unbiased committee. “The cities of the Kingdom are developing into smart cities that are monitored and equipped with various technological devises. There are no maintenance teams to clean and update all these devices. Saher devices can sometimes be overheated by the sun or dusted for not being cleaned for weeks,” said Al-Otaibi. He added when devices are in bad condition they can produce inaccurate data due to glitches. “There should be a traffic court to allow drivers and traffic users to appeal their cases if they ever felt any injustice was done to them. The rate of injuries and accidents have been decreasing throughout the years. In turn, the number of violations recorded have been decreasing,” said Al-Otaibi. He added the more systemized the Traffic Departments are, the safer the roads become.