Fine for Motorists who Talk on Phone While Driving
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
By Mohammed Hamdan
JEDDAH - The use of mobile phones by drivers while behind the wheel is one of the causes of slow-moving traffic here.
Col. Mohammed Al-Qahtani, the director of Jeddah traffic police, said this practice by some drivers should be considered as a violation of traffic rules.
"It contravenes traffic laws because the driver cannot focus on the road when half of his attention is on his mobile phone.
Using the mobile phone while driving greatly affects drivers' reflexes that are much gravely needed in case of emergencies," he said.
He said that the traffic police administration has studied the trend of using cell phones while driving and that a media campaign advising people of the dangers of talking and driving at the same time will be put into effect before the law is changed six months from now.
By then, those caught talking on their phone while driving will be fined SR500, Al-Qahtani said. The media campaign to be sponsored primarily by mobile network company Mobily, aims to disseminate the message of "traffic consciousness," said Hamad Al-Ghubaini, Mobily Public Relations Manager.
Al-Etisalat, another mobile network company, will also participate in the campaign, said Eng. Saad Al-Qahtani, Etisalat Public Relations Manager.
Abdullah Jameel, a motorist, said he crashed into a car coming from a secondary street while he was texting a message into his mobile phone.
"The air bag suddenly erupted," said Abdullah who had to pay up SR8,000 Riyals since he was not covered by insurance.
Ameer Haj-Jasem insisted that his ability to focus is not impaired when using his mobile phone while driving.
"Sometimes it's not worth stopping just to finish a short call. Actually, it is easy for me to talk while paying attention to traffic," Ameer said.
Source: Saudi Gazette
www.saudigazette.com.sa