Automated Traffic Control and Management System (Saher)
Automated Traffic Control and Management System (Saher)
Saudis’ First Source of Public Anger
Automated Traffic Control and Management System (Saher)
Saudis’ First Source of Public Anger
HessaAlKhaldi
ID : 200900670
Dr: Sadeeqa
Writing and Research, COMM 1312
Assignment:2 Bibliography
2012
Bibliography:
Ansar, F., Akhdar, and Moutaery, K., (2009), Causes and Effects of Road Traffic Accidents in Saudi Arabia, Department of Neurosciences, Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital Publications, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
It is an automated traffic control and management system which covers major cities in Saudi Arabia, and uses digital cameras network linked with the National Information Centre of Ministry of Interior. The element of the project includes: a)Traffic Management System (TMS), b) Auto Vehicle Location (AVL), c) License Plate Recognition system (LPR), d) Variable Message Sings (VMS), e) Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) and f) Law Enforcement System (LES). All these systems will be linked with the command and control canters located in eight cities Kingdom wide.
This is the Saudi Ministry of Interior’s background on Saher. According to the ministry, the system covers (today all cities). According to the ministry’s report, Saher has five functions that include managing, location, license and law enforcement and there plans to link it with other centres.
Today Saher system covers all the Saudi cities and also the major highways. But the problem is mostly about the third part which is law enforcement and this is what angers the Saudi public.
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Millennium Edition – Revision No. 1, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C., December 2001.
The success of city planning depends a lot on high performance roadtraffic management. Right from the design phase to the instalment of traffic management tools, Auto Mate Systems can support you with the latest technology and state-of-the-art mechanisms that keep you in front. We also ensure you will have trouble-free operation and use the most cost effective methods.Monitoring, controlling and managing traffic or vehicle fleet is critical to a successful transportation operation, for both public and commercial enterprises. Your organization may be responsible for law enforcement and must track public and/or government-issued vehicles as part of your crime reduction efforts.
According to this book, the traffic management system is the foundation of any modern city in both design and management. There comes the importance of the automatedmanagement which provides Monitoring, controlling and managing the traffic. because by this management only the transportation in the country can be effective for citizens. The author adds that is also a way of controlling crime.
If the traffic management technology is the base of every modern city, it is introduced too late in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi people now cannot easily change the way they drive or behave in roads.
Fayz, J., (2010) Saher Implementation Guide, Requirements for Traffic Awareness, (Oct9, automatesystems.co, 2011)
I commend traffic officials for making an effort to curb the guerrilla warfare that passes for driving in Saudi Arabia. And maybe the Saher program is generating plenty of revenue from traffic fines to fill the traffic department’s coffers, but I got to say that it doesn’t look like there has been much of an impact on the streets. Since leaving Saudi Arabia in 2007, I studied in the United Kingdom and vacationed in the United States. I learned to drive and I quickly became spoiled.
The writer of this article citizensSaher by saying the Saudi traffic situation like war but Saher is not improving the safety, but making more money for the ministry. According to the writer who compares the situation in Saudi Arabia with abroad to say his driving became worse here.
That is true, there are still many people die everyday just like in ware and if Saher or any other system can stop the death of so many people it should be sued whether the people accept it or not
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, National Highway Safety Administration, Automated Devices, and Equipment, (49CFR, Fifth Volume), Revised March 1999.
The demand for better safety and tighter security in many parts of the world includes effectivetraffic control management. From accidents through negligence to petty theft, potential breaches of safety and security can affect our daily lives in a variety of ways. Automate Systems install and maintain a wide range of security and traffic control equipment, fromtraffic barrierstoautomatic rising bollards, all of which have already proved their effectiveness in making public and private property safer and more secure.
The author of this article stressed the need for better traffic safety and security which according to him can be realized by an effective traffic control management. According to his such system prevents accidents because of negligence, theft and safety security. According to him the system includes equipment that includes cameras barriers and it protects lives and property.
Today in the Kingdom there is only cameras and most of these Saher cameras are fixed in cars not in the roads as fixed equipment and this seem like they are not for a long time.
Mustafa, K., (2011) Values on Saher Strategies. Ministry of Interior, Public Transportation Institute, Riyadh
According to the traffic division of the Ministry of
Interior in Riyadh, the average annual economic
loss related to traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia is
estimated at 21 billion Saudi riyals ($5.6 billion).
Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in
males aged 16 to 36 years and, according to WHO
road traffic accidents are already the fifth leading
cause of death in Saudi Arabia
Saher website from Riyadh reports the traffic losses and damages. According to the directorate of Saher,accidents cost the Kingdom about 21 billion early and cause a lot of death of young Saudis. He adds the information that traffic accidents are number five causer of death among Saudis.
We Saudis know how much loss and damage happened to us because every family lost a person or two that is why we should accept safety systems like Saher not to feet or become angry from it.
Dhibyani, K., (2012) Grievance cell bombarded with queries about Saher, Okaz/, Last Updated : Friday, (September 07, SaudiGazette.com.sa2012) 1:19 AM
The human rights cell based at the Public Security headquarters in Riyadh receives 3 million calls a month on its 989 number, most of which are related to the Saher system. Some inquire about the system while others complain about it. Informed sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette the 989 callcentre provides around 1 million callers each month with information about the business sector, conditions of obtaining firearms licenses and emergency numbers. The office has been in service since mid-2010. It seeks to allow citizens to express their suggestions, remarks and complaints regarding security officers.
This article reports the huge amounts of inquiries by Saudis they direct to the Human Right Public Security in Riyadh. According to the reporter many questions were about Saher and some were about owning arms and emergency numbers in the Kingdom. The Saudi citizens reported these inquiries because the centre accepts and answer inquiries.
This part is very strange i did not know about it. I don’t know people complain at the Human Right. These people who are loosing their lives everyday also have rights and people should think fairly about that.
Tariq, Y., (2004) Saher’s Impacts on Maintaining Traffic Safety Guidelines. Report No. FhB-Rd-97-053, National Information Canter of Ministry of Interior Publications, Riyadh HQ., 2004
Violators will risk having their cars impounded for 30 days. The regulations seek to control this trend that has started to spread all over the Kingdom, one of the sources pointed out. Covering license plates or making their numbers illegible is one of the most common ways drivers use to cheat the system. Recent reports issued by the administration showed some drivers fold their front and rear license plates a little bit so that Saher cameras cannot record them. Some drivers hide the numbers by putting stickers on them, according to the reports. Hiding license plates from Saher cameras allow drivers to speed and drive recklessly. The latest figures issued by the administration showed Saher has reduced deaths from road accidents by 14 percent while injuries have been reduced by 43 percent. The average speed of motorists has decreased by 33 percent while violations have also decreased dramatically, according to the reports.
The author of this article discusses the bad a trend among the Saudi drivers who are trying to deceive Saher’s cameras by covering this car plates not to be detected. According to the article some of drivers cover the plates, taint them or fold them to avoid Saher and speed. The report says the system has cut accidents by 14% and also excessive speed by 35%.
Most drivers play with their car plate and number to hide it from Saher. We can see this in the streets. But the problem is traffic police do not do anything.
Human Rights wants Saher Fines Waived,(September 07, okazcom.sa 2012) 09 - 03 - 2011
Increasing complaints at the Saher traffic cameras system of fining motor offenses, a member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has called for all outstanding fines to be waived.Matouq Al-Shareef said there was “no proper awareness campaign” prior to Saher's introduction.“There were no new speed limit signs on the roads, only old ones that in many cases are not clearly legible,” he said. “Also, the increasing of fines for non-payment is nonsensical given the high rate of unemployment among young people.”
The author of this article has an interesting information which is that a legal complaint by a member of National Society for Human Rights will be filed. According to the author the complaints are; no awareness campaign was done ahead, about poor sign of speed limits, and the high fine charged for violations which is affecting unemployment problem in the Kingdom.
That is true. We did not hear about before we saw it in the streets. This makes the people to think Saher is only for collecting their money and the government surprised the drivers to collect more money.
Sayeed, J., (2011) Minimum Requirements for Traffic Safety Legislations , FHWA/RD-93/077, National Information Canter of Ministry of Interior Publications, Riyadh HQ.,
Drivers lament not just the lack of speed limit signs but also question the legality of a system in which offenders are often not even aware of the law they are told they have broken. They also wonder whether the same rules apply to Saher operators themselves. “I was driving along when I suddenly saw one of the Saher mobile camera vehicles stationed on the central island of a main road, holding up traffic in a clear violation of the rules,” said Sa'ad Al-Shehri. “Does the Traffic Department fine the Saher operating companies for stopping in the middle of the road and being a potential cause of accidents, I wonder?”
The author of this article arises a new Saherproblem which is the system does not tell the driver what his violation is and whether this applies to Saher employees. The writer speaks about his own experience with a Sahercar which blocks the road and wonders the safety.
That is true because Saher’s violation is send to the driver by SMS text messages and there is no dental about the type of the violation or the amount of the five. These are basic right for the drivers.
Working in Saudi Arabia, Thursday, August 14, 200, (n.d.), (September 07, orkinginsaudiarabia.blogspot.com, 2012) Retrieved on Sept. 24, Retrieved from:
Lawyer NawwafAalGhalib believes that the current system of operation in which fines are recorded in the name of the vehicle owner and not necessarily the driver who committed the offense, is against the law. “Articles 81, 67, 73 and 75 of the Basic Law state that the offender has the right to object to the penalty with the relevant authorities, that three copies of the violation should be made with one provided to the offender, and that the offender has the right to object to it before the relevant court within 30 days of the violation being issued,” he said.Under the current system, if fines are not paid on time, they automatically increase without any recourse to complaint as described by AalGhalib.
The lawyer speak about the legality of Saher’s action of fining the vehicle and not the driver of the vehicle. According to the lawyer this law of fining is against international laws by two articles in the Basic Law. According to the writer, the rule is the driver of the car is who is fined. Another violation of the law according to the article, is overcharging the fine if it is not paid within 30 days.
These two points are strong and i think they are against drivers right even if they are wrong. Here in Saudi Arabia interests in banks is not allowed, so why it is allowed in Saher’s fine that double every month?