Put an end to the ‘Darbawiya’ subculture

Dr. Muhammad Al-Awain The traffic accident that took place on a bridge in Riyadh recently was not a normal accident. It was a deliberate and premeditated crime. The video of the event that went viral on social media showed a young man driving a pickup truck and crashing into several parked cars in traffic. Because of his recklessness, several cars were damaged. People were so angry that some of them forced him to stop his vehicle, pulled him out and severely beat him. He sustained injuries to the face. Everyone who saw the video on social media left an angry comment and called on the authorities to severely punish the perpetrator who belonged to a group known as “Darbawiya” (road daredevils) – a subculture of young Saudis. These young men, who are especially found in the central and eastern parts of the Kingdom, are usually from low-income, uneducated families and tend to engage in highly dangerous and high-risk activities such as drifting. They also tend to be reckless and unemployed. They mainly drive pickup trucks, love to keep the inside of their vehicles dirty and drive with one of their lights on full beam, not both. Their favorite soft drink is Citrus – nobody knows the reason why. When they travel on the highway, they usually tailgate each other and also other cars as well. They drive at high speed all of the time, do not follow traffic rules and keep their stereos on at full-blast. Many of them smoke hashish, drink alcohol and use drugs. There is a great possibility that the young Darbawi who wreaked havoc on the bridge in Riyadh may have been under the influence of intoxicants. Some newspapers reported that the police found hashish in his vehicle. The relevant authorities should take strict measures to end the negative practices of these Darbawis and protect members of the public from falling victim to their actions. The media and schools should shed light on the Darbawiya subculture. There should be media campaigns targeting low-income families whose young sons are prone to join these groups. The actions of Darbawis give our country a negative image and might encourage others to violate traffic rules in broad daylight.