By Innovation-sa on March 5, 2018 in News
The Directorate General of Traffic (Muroor) banned the use of mobile phones while driving in Saudi Arabia from Monday onwards. During the first phase, special cameras will be installed in Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah to electronically monitor motorists using or touching mobile phones while driving.
A recent study by King Abdullah Medical Research Center in Riyadh revealed that 13.8 percent of motorists use mobile phones while driving. Moreover, the use of mobile phones while driving has been found to be the key reason behind accidents and this has led to the use of modern technology to detect traffic violations in the Kingdom.
In addition to banning mobile phone usage, seat-beltsĀ are now mandatory for drivers and passengers in the front seat and those who fail to wear them will be detected by cameras and fined.
The traffic authority said that for the first offense, motorists will be fined SR 150 which may increase to SR 300 if the violator repeats the offense, and the violator may be detained for 24 hours as well.
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