Khalid Al-Malik
Ten years ago, Riyadh Traffic Department invited me and some of my colleagues at Al-Jazirah newspaper to its headquarters at the behest of King Salman who was then Governor of Riyadh. We were taken on a tour and briefed on the electronic operations room that was set up to organize traffic in Riyadh and stop the chaos in the city’s streets. I was the editor-in-chief of Al-Jazirah back then and I still am.
We were impressed with the Traffic Department’s plan and listened attentively to the presentation. We left the headquarters with the impression that the chaotic situation in our streets would disappear forever and that Riyadh would become an example for other cities in terms of traffic management.
The briefing was held in a spacious room with many large screens that were being monitored by qualified officers. We thought Riyadh, which is considered one of the most crowded cities in the world, was about to witness a new era of organization and traffic management. However, years have gone by since this visit and the chaotic situation on our streets continues to exist. In fact, it has become worse. I cannot help but wonder where the city’s traffic police are and why we do not see them in our streets.
I still remember how the large screens showed the streets of Riyadh and helped those working in the Traffic Department keep a close eye on the traffic situation in all of the streets that were known to usually have traffic jams. The officers in charge of the screens communicated instructions to traffic police on the ground to immediately deal with the situation. Today, the streets of Riyadh still have traffic jams. It seems that traffic police have stopped monitoring streets. Perhaps that is why we see some drivers run red lights in broad daylight while others drive in the wrong direction on one-way streets. There are also some who travel at high speed on busy streets. The list of violations one can spot on the streets of Riyadh is a long one. Traffic police need to wake up and control this chaotic situation on the ground. We have been waiting for too long and nothing has happened.
Traffic police should give a ticket to anyone who does not respect traffic laws. If traffic police do not impose rules, then what use are the courses that they take overseas and what is the point of having sophisticated systems to organize the flow of traffic?
Where are the undercover traffic police? We do not see them on the streets of Riyadh. The other day, I saw a driver running a red light in the Al-Sahafa District. He probably did it because he realized there are no surveillance cameras installed and no undercover traffic police.
The traffic police should realize that we Saudis and non-Saudis completely trust them and would like them to give others a good impression of Riyadh. Please work hard to enable Riyadh to become a good example and end the chaos on our streets. So many people have been killed and injured because of this chaos and recklessness. Drivers engage in reckless behavior on our roads because they know they can get away with it.
