Job Discussion Forums

[Abba]

A teacher in Abha was put in a prison and fined SR900 for crossing the traffic red light. This happen when he was going to bring his children from school, unfortunately and by mistake he crossed the traffic light when it was in the RED/YELLOW transition time!! But because the policeman who was hidden behind a tree stopped him and took him to the black box, even though the teacher begged the policeman just to write the fine ticket , but the policeman refused and insisted that he should be put in the black box (prison).

(According to the SA traffic regulation, if anybody crosses the traffic red light, he will be put in prison (up to 48 hours) and pay a fine of up to SR900).
But the problem is how this rule is applied in ground !! I have seen many Saudis crossing the traffic red light in front of the police, and when they get stopped and after some quarrel, they release them without paying anything (WASTA). Even some of them drive without a driving license !!!
Even some of them can delete the fine from the police computer system using their WASTA wih the police !!

At the end, our friend the teacher because he knows one police officer (which happens to be his son was a student who knows the teacher), so he interfered and helped the teacher to get out from the prison after spending few hours in prison.

[Rennenkampf]

Dostovevsky wrote some of his best work in prison.
Can strong links of iron be retentive of strength of spirit?

[scot47]

Every day I see examples of the triumph of the human spirit in face of adversity.

[Queen of Sheba]

I see Saudis arrested for traffic violations a lot lately in Riyadh. I think they are trying to address this problem, but it goes in spurts-sometimes there are a lot of arrests other times not so many.

If it were my country and I had wasta I would use it too. Why should we be treated as a Saudi when we are not anyway? Its their land they get to make the laws...when I own my own piece of land I will be sure to do the same...and only some of you will be invited.

[Abba]

[Queen of Sheba]

Are you talking about traffic accidents or wasta here? Traffic violators should and are being sent to prison and the Saudi traffic laws are tightening, as I said lately, for both Saudis and foreigners. I said all persons breaking the law should face consequences, and I said I see Saudis being hauled off on the sides of highways in droves to jail for the night a lot lately. Where have you been, not in Riyadh perhaps, to have missed seeing this lately?! By the way I lost a family member to a traffic accident recently, so yes I know how bad it can be...

The problem with drivers in KSA is the poor driving standards that�s acceptable by Saudi government as adequate for a driver�s license, not the punishment of violations. Traffic tickets and laws defining punishment for violations including speeding alone is definatly on the rise, according to the local news that has covered these new laws a lot in the past year.

Wasta is another issue that exists everywhere in the world in some form, albeit arguably more so in KSA than some other places. If we are honest with ourselves, I think most, if not all of us, would use wasta to get ourselves out of a ticket too. If only expats could rule KSA is an attitude that gets us nowhere - because we dont and we never will, something I find I have to remind myself of before taking on a fight over something legal or cultural.

[Arab Strap]

Perhaps a little off topic but the thing that really angers me is the way that most Saudi drivers, at least most I see on the road, refuse to wear seatbelts, never use their indicators, cut you off at any given opportunity, overtake you from any lane at any angle (including the inside service lane), tailgate you, flash their lights at you, beep you the micro second the light changes, turn left from the right lane at the traffic lights (if they actually manage to stop on red), throw rubbish out of the car window and on and on and on...........................don't see the police hauling off too many were I live, Saudi or expat.

BUT driving with a child in their lap or with the kids either standing or sitting in the front seat without a seatbelt while Babba fiddles with his mobile phone, that takes the biscuit...............that is just so downright f**king irresponsible and stupid that these Muppets should not be allowed to have children

Am I being particularly culturally insensitive here, could somebody explain the philosophy behind this madness?

I put it down to pure laziness rather than anything else.

[KSA-UK]

Are there any taffic regulations in Saudi..or things like driving schools?
I don't think so. In Riyadh, at least 400 people died in accidents last year! I think nationwide it is about three to four thousand deaths a year!
In this country, any violation is subject to the big W ( I mean when you're Saudi); crossing the red light or not wearing the seat belt is ok as long as the policeman is from your tribe. There is sometihng I often do when stopped at a traffic light: counting the number of cars that cross the red light: you might need your fingers and your toes to count!
one last thing: beware of pickup trucks!!!

[Cleopatra]

[Like a Rolling Stone]

[Stephen Jones]

Saudis are regularly imprisoned for traffic offenses. It's quite common to find a student absent because he's in jail.

[thrifty]

No, it's not.

[Abba]

[KSA-UK]

[quote="Stephen Jones"]Saudis are regularly imprisoned for traffic offenses. It's quite common to find a student absent because he's in jail.[/quote]

Your students don't have wasta then!

[thrifty]

Of course they don't-that is why they are where they are.