Around 500 undercover police vehicles will be deployed in Jeddah, said a top official.

“Undercover officers issued more than 35,000 tickets in a nine-month period,” Brig. Gen. Waslallah Al-Harbi, Jeddah Traffic Department director, told Arab News.

Most traffic offenses were related to speeding, erroneous overtaking, failing to wear seat belts, using mobile phones while driving and purposely blurring license plates.

Some 214 other traffic violations were also registered during the same period for drifting, maneuvering and gathering where secret traffic police patrols organize stakeouts.

“Our department is keen on organizing stakeouts to put an end to traffic violations in an attempt to save lives,” he said.

Undercover traffic cops were also assigned to ban the entry of trucks into the province at specific times and regulate their flow to ensure smooth traffic flow and avert bottlenecks.

Al-Harbi said directives had been issued to traffic police on how to maintain order and apply regulations in a manner that would contribute to raising safety awareness among motorists and pedestrians.

Drivers face fines, vehicle confiscation or arrest depending on the severity of the violations.

Undercover police in Riyadh intercepted 9,000 violations over the past two weeks. Violations include over-speeding, driving without a license, driving in the opposite direction and running red lights.

In the Eastern Province (EP), traffic police intercepted 186 violations within a six-hour period, said Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Al-Shanbary, EP traffic director.

“Field patrol teams in the province stopped 138 vehicles for intentionally running red lights for the second day in a row,” said Mansour Shakra, department spokesman.

“Running red lights is one of the most dangerous violations there is,” he said.

 
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