Dallah PDF

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KACST > , U f ' : . J ~ f"IlkU

..

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

,



)800

/ <3crD-2-- 6 D D2 - ~~he Driver's Manual for obtaining

a Saudi driving license

(The approved Curriculum by theMinistry of Interior)

Authors

Prof. Abdulrahman I. Alabdulaaly

I'ror. Ali S. AI-Gamedi Brigadier General (R) Ameen A. SaeedEngr. Sa leh A. AI·Amro Co lonel! Abdulaziz M. M. AI-Merebah



/11 the Name ofAllah Most Gracious MostMerciful



..

Acknowledgement

Authors of this manual wo uld like to ex-"ress their gratitude to King Abdulaziz City1m Science & Technology (KACST) for fi-lIancial support to prepare this manual as one

or the researches of the National Traffic Safe-

tv Committee. They also thank those who sup-ported them directly or Indirectly speci ally the(ielleral Directorate of Traffic and the SaudiRed Crescent Authority.

\



Preamble

Traffi c Safety represent a major conce rn for traffic

mllhor ities, who strive to bring into effect, while on the

other hand, road users hope to secure such safety. With

co llective efforts we will a ll feci it's tangible effects.

This manual, with it' s scientific content aims at

1l()()\l ing practical traffic awareness levels of vehicle's

drivers in the Kingdom's roads. The manual was pre-

pared by a learn of specialized professors and highlypmfcssionai orficia ls. liS comprehe nsiveness and s im -

plicity in presenting information shall serve as the best

)!uidance for those seeking to learn driving and/or en-

hancing and implementing safe drivi ng sk ills.

1'0 alla in the objective of this manual. special COIl-

.deration was made to its assortment into chapters in

tl'lm of diversity and sequence of infommtion to make

II lIluch easier for the beneficiaries,

We hope this manual meets the proposed object ive.lIld acq uires sa ti sfact ion.

In pursuance of God wi ll

GenerallFahd bin Saud AI-Bisher

I)ircctor of the General Directorate for Traffic

VII



Table of Content

Ack nowledgment

Preamble

L.lhlc of Content

Introduction

v

VII

IX

1. To whom this Manual 3

2. Driving License ~ m d important information 7

2· I Obtain ing a Saud i Drivi ng License 9

2-2 Individuals obliged 10 obtain a driving li-cense 10

2-3 Types of driving Licenses 10

2-4 Driving license tes t procedures 10

2-5 Other information about driv ing license 11

Qu i!. 14

Kult Ul.ltiun'S

1- 1 Traffic rules

.1-2 Driving conditions

.1·3 Seat belt

.1-4 Insurance

1-5 The points system

Quiz

4. Roads and Traffic Signs

4- 1 Road intersections

IX

15

17

23

26

28

29

31

33

36



4-2 Road signs

4-3 Work zones signs

4-4 Traffic control at intersections

Quiz

S. Safe Driving

5- 1Speed

5.2 Running red light

5.3 Drifting (Tafheeth)

5-4 Using the mobile while driving

5-5 Defensive driving

5-6 Ru les that must be known

Quiz

6, S h a r j n ~ thl' Road nith Others

6- 1 Pedestrians

6-2 Bicycles

6-3 Persons with disability

6-4 Schools students

6-5 Emergency vehicles

6-6 Road works

Quiz

7. The Vehicle

7- 1 Tires

7-2 Veh icle's breakdowns

7-3 Emergency conditions

37

46

47

50

53

55

55

57

57

57

58

61

63

65

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

73

78

80



Qu iz 82

8. Traffic Accidents 83

8- 1 Avoiding accidents 85

8.2 Collid ing with camels 88

8.3 The acc ident 's si te and crowding 90

8-4 Intensity of the traffic acc ident 9 J

8-5 How to act when you sec an acc ident ? 9 1

8.6 Stopping acute bleeding 93

8.7 Hazardous materials 95

8.8 Factors in fluencing d riving 97

Qui z 100

~ . Uchaviors tha t lead to license suspension 10 1

'IJIJ<lldix (Il: 105

'1':lb lcs of the traffic violations pursuant to the trarne Act

\lJl'cndix (2)

I 'nl ffic signs and signals ......... .......... .................. 115

x,



Introduction

Th is manual is intended to enhance your dnving

,I.. II Is whether you are applying for a dri vi ng permit,license or you already have one and wi she!) tn keep.lhreast of the latest traffic ru les and regulat ions.

Oblall1ing a driving liccm.e is i.\ privilege not anght; it entails a declared acceptance to compl y withthe traffic rules and regulation s to maintain safety andL'c ur ity of our roads. Thus you arc entitled to consider

.. 11 road users and be alert to road surpri ses that youlIlay encoun ter any timc.

Obtaining a Saudi driving license means you are

lX'rmittcd to drive a vehicle on public roads, not that)OU are immune from encountering a traffic accident.rilUS you are requ ired to be always cautious, since,k ill alone is not enough to avoid road risks and su r

p n ~ e s .

You are required to rcad thi s manual carefully. TheIIIformalion presented in th is manual is not just essen-

Iml for passing the driving les t, but it is intended "byGod will" to preserve your safety and the safety of

ro.\d users.

- I -



1

To whom this

Manual



Th is manual is intended for:

App licants for Driving Pennit.

Applicants for Driving License.

Those hold ing non-Saudi driving license and required to obtain a Saudi driving license.

Drivers with driving experience who wish 10 fami li'.lrizc themselves wide ly with the traffic reguhltionsand driving rules of conduct, or obtaining addit iomll

or updated infonnat ion about traffic rules and defensive driving.

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2

Driving License and

important information

- 7 -



2·1 Obtaining a Saudi Driving License

Those who completed 18 years are e nti tled to ob·

t'l in a private dnving license and motorb ikes dnving

licc nce, wh ile who completed 20 years are entitled tolotam a general dnvmg license and driving public

work s vechlclcs. Those who comp leted 17 years mayohtain a temporary pcrmit valid for onc year to dr ive apn vate veh icle .

ApphcJnt s for driving license or a driving permitarc sUb.jected to vi sion test and are requ ired to pass thelollowing two tests:

1. Written tcst

2. Practical test

Apphcants wuh health constrains that reqUiresmedical exammatlon to asses their eligibility to dnvc,

sha ll undertake to reveal this upon apply ing for a driving license.

First tjrne applicants are requi red to enroll in adriving training qua li fication course at an accredited

lraining school in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. CerIlficates obtained fOffil such schools shall not by itself

qualify a person for road driving. unless he refers tothe concerned traffic directorate to obtain a dri ving license or permit. The driving training course is intended to enhance driver's theoret ical knowledge and prac·tical skill of veh icles driving, such as traffic

regulations, traffic signs and their connotations, safe

and defensive driving, and how to deal with vehiclesbreak downs and emergency situations.

"ritten test questions are hased on inforrmt·tion contained in this numu.l1.

- 9-



2-2 Individuals obliged to obtain a driving license

Any citizen or resident expatriate dr iving a veh icleon public roads is obliged to obtain a driving license.Visitors are allowed to drive private vehicles on theauthority of a valid international driving license ortheir countries of origin driving license. The durationof this allowance expires upon the expiry of the driv

ing license or the vis it period. In both cases the allowance duration sha ll not exceed one year.

It is s t r i c t l ~ prohibited to drhc a 'cchictc on the roads

"ithout ohtainlng un adc1luate ,alid licensc or IIl'rmil

2-3 Types of Driving Licenses

There are four types of dr iving licenses:

I. Private driving license: issued to those driving pri vate vehicles with a gross weight of not more than3.5 tons.

2. Genera l driving license, the type and category of

the pcnnittcd vehicle is specified in the license.3. Public works vechicles driv ing license.4. Motorcycle drivi ng license.

2-4 Driving license test procedures

-Test locationThe written test, vision test and practical test may

be conducted at any traffic department assigned tothat purpose. Written test is required for fi rst lime applicants and fo r those intending to obtain another different type of driving license, while vision test is required in all cases.

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Pr.lclice Field al a Driving Training School

Test components

I. Vision test to ensure the applicant visual ability tosee things clearly.

2. Written test on traffic rules, road signs, principlesof traffic safety; to assess the applicant knowledgeof the traffic rules and safe vehicle operation. Thetest questions arc based on infonnation contained

in this manual. The test comprises many questionsand lasts for 30 minutes. A minimum passing scoreof 80% is required.

3. Practical driving test requires a vehicle in a goodcond ition, with good brakes, tires, head and tai llights, brake lights, signal lights, s ide and rear mir-rors and wipers.The practical driving test provides the applicantwith an opportunity to prove his ability to drivesafely accompanied with a traffic officer who pro-vides clear instructions without requesting illegaldeeds.

- I I -



Applicants sha ll observe the ro llowing points in the

driving test:

* Use of seat belt.

*Cont rol over the steering whee l.

* Use of acce lerator.

• Use of hand brake.• Use of foot brake.

• How to start mov ing the vehicle.

• Use of mirrors.

* Reverse movement and appropriate parking.

*Use of signa l light s.

• How to turn left and right.

* Watch for pedestrians.

• The distance between your vehicle and the vehicle

ahead.

* Watch out others around when intending to pass.

*Avoid other's mi stake s.

• Compliance with the traffic signs and signal s.

* Observe the right-of-way.

* Driving in a s ingle and multi-lane roads.

* Focused and disciplined driving behavior. such as

busy with mobile phone.

* U-turn in a si ngle-lane road.

* Expect ing road surprises.

* Complian ce with traffic rules and regulations.



2·5 Other information about the driving license

The Traffic authority main tains the right to sus·Ix:nd the procedure of obtain ing a driving license or

it 's renewal in the following instances:

Supply invalid information in the application fo rm.Lack of the required driving skill .

The existence of a health problem that may result inunsafe driving.

Unpaid traffic violation tickets.Presentation of fake documents.

f Falsifinltion' of the driving license

c n t ~ l i l s severe punishments

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Quiz

Q I. Ilriving vehicles on the roads is stricUy prohib-

ited without:A. Obtaining a dri ving license or driving permit.

B. Switch on the vehicles lights.C. Use eye glasses.

D. All of lhe above.

Q2. Obtaining your driving license means:A. Accepting the res ponsibility to comply with the

traffic rules and reg ulations.

B. That you arc immune from encountering a traffic

accide llt .C. Thai you became a sk illed driver.

D. A ll of the above.

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3

Traffic Rules &

Regulations

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3- 1Trame rules

Traffic has rules that must be observed. Preachingthose rules increases the poss ibility of engaging intotraffic accident. The following are some of theseru les:

A. Speed limits:Over speed ing is the major cause of fatal accidents.

Drivers are not supposed to exceed the speed limit beyond necessitated by the road ci rcumstances and the, urrounding environment. Drivers shall not alw.lYsl'omply with driving with in speed limit; inste'ld theyIllWH consider the road situatio n, weather conditionsand the surrounding ci rcum stances (such as rain, fog,' tmm, congestion. maintenance work, poor visibilityilt night).

<.; pced limit differs in residential areas and nonresident ial areas, within urban zones and rural areas, in' traight roads, curves and intersections.

Speed limil ,ign

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Drivers should comply with the fo llowing speed lim its if there are no speed limit signs.

Vehiclc Type Max imum speed Km/h

Light Ve hicles wi thi n urban zooes 50

Light Ve hicles in rural roads 120

Hcavy trucks within urban zones 30

Hcavy trucks in rural roads 70

Dn\crs should comltJcr road ClfcUlmtances .md \\cathercondItIons VehIcle speed ~ h o u l d not always reach the

specified ~ p e e d limit

8. Driving lanesThere are specified rules regulating the use of road

lanes. Drivers shall comply with these rules whiledriving to mai ntain other's right-of-way and avoidtraffic acc idents.

You should always signal your intension to shift

between lanes (change Janes)and ensure that othersare aware of thi s.

C. The right-or-wayMeans the driver's right to continue dri ving. You

should respect other's right on the road, s ince they areentit led to the sam e right-of-way. In general the right

remains with those driving in straight direc tion. Yield ing the road right -of-way has spec ific situations andplaces such as:

- Roold ilccess / exit:* in access ing a ma in road. a dri ver mu st yield the

right -of-w::1Yto o ther vehicles in the main road



* In exiting a main road a driver mu st yie ld the rightof-way to other vehicles in the service road.

• Intersections• The roundabout: driver must yield the right-or-way

to vehicles inside the roundabout.* Intersect ions with no traffic control (no traffi c light ,

stop sign or yield sign): the driver must yield theright -of-way to veh icles coming from the right side.

• Emergency vehiclesDrivers must yield the right -or-way to emergencyvehicles.

D. Rules of passing

Driving sometimes requires pass ing other vehicles;but thi s may result into acc idents, if the safety traf

fic rules were not observed. The following arcsome important rules fo r pa ss ing other vehicles:Ensure a safe di stance between your ve hicle and theve hic le YOll intend to pass.

* Ensure there is no o ther ve hicles in the lan e yo u in tend to move to.

• Check the tmrti c behind your ve hicle (use the mir

ror).Signal your intension to the right or left , as requiredMove to the other lane, but remember you may

need to accelerate your speed to pass, prov ided YOll

sbould not exceed the speed limit.Ensure there is no other ve hicles in the blind areas

around your vehicles, by look ing around and qu ickly resume back to your norm;,l1 position.

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the appropriatebefore paSSin!! ano ther vehIcle

Blind a r c a ~ arc the arC;JS to thc right and Icli of the \chlde,

\\ hllh the drJ\er can not ~ c c l l n l c ~ ~ b} looking UrollnJ In thenght .mu left

E. Prohibited passing situations

pass ing is prohibited in the following situations:

* When there is poor visiblity .* When incoming traffic from opposite direction donot allow safe pass ing.

* In the intersections, railrodas, bridges and pedestri-an s cross ings.

* In curves, hilly areas, slopes, squares and slipperyroads.

* When the vehicle you intend to pass is mov ing fast-

er Ihan yo ur vehicle.• [11 areas where pa ssing is prohibited.• When the vehicle you intend to pass started already

passing a vehicle ahead.* When a ve hicle behind you started pass ing.* In lanes marked with continolls lin e,• When school buses SlOp for children 10 board or exit.



Pass ing is prohibit<."<! in curve ..

P i n g is prohibited nC;lr rail road imcrM!Ction

F. Vision and stoPP:Jge distanceSometimes a driver is confronted with an object on

the rond such as p e d e s t r i a n ~ . animals or a brokendown

ve hicle. In such cases the driver is required to stop be-fore colliding with these objects. Stopping a trave lingve hicle requires a dista nce thm is known as the s top-page distance: it comprises of two parts: fi rs t. the di s-tance traveled between the rea lization and reactiontime. i.e the moment the dri ve r sees a body and rea li l..-es thiJt there is an obstacle ahead: the vehicle duringthi s part travels with its original speed. The second

part represent s the distance required for the veh icle tocome into a comple te stop whi le the dr iver applyinglhe brakes.

- 2 1 -



"

Upon applying the brake while dr iving, the vehicletravels for a distance before coming to a complete

stop. The length of such d istance depends on a nu mber of factors; such as the vehicle's spe ed at the timethe driver applies the brakes, friction coefficient betwecn the vehicle's tires and the road surface, incl ination of the road and the ti res quality.

Vehicles travel ing at high speed req uire more distance to come to a complete stop. As shown in the fo l

lowing table, if the veh icle speed is 30 km/h, it requi res 30m to come to a complete stop. This distancemult iplies 10 206m (seven times approximate ly) whenthe speed reaches lOOkm/h.Drivcrs sha ll a lways notexceed the specified speed limit, at the same time theyshall conside r the road circumstances and adapt theirspeed accordi ngly. It is worth mentioning that driv ing

at night requires more alert since the vis ib il ity rangeprovided by the front light is shorter than the stoppagedistance. To avoid this problem drivers are advised toreduce speed as much as possible wi thout affectingot her vehicles on the road.

G. Keep Safe Distance

Drivers shall always mai ntai n a safe distance behind the vehicle ahead. The safe distance varies according to vehicle speed, it is longer as the speed acce lerates and shorter as vehicle slows. The safetyrules requires to allow th ree meters from the vehicleahead for each 10km of the vehicle speed ; e.g. thesafe follow ing distance for a vehicle traveling al

90km/h shall be 27-30m. If the average vehicle lengthis 6m, the safe distance shall be equal to fi ve vehicleslength.

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Stoppage distance as per vehicle's speed

Speed Di stance tray- Distance tmv- Distance tmy-

(Km/h) e led before re- eled after flp- eled be fore thesponding by pl ying the vehicle com-applying the brake (m) pletely .slopped

bmke (m) (III)

30 21 9 3040 28 17 45

50 35 29 64

60 42 43 8570 49 63 11 280 56 84 140

90 63 107 170100 70 136 206110 77 170 247120 84 204 288

Drh IIIg Conditions

\. Driving within urban zones

Driving with in urban zones req ui res skills that dif

ler from driving outside urban zones; thus drivers

..hall observe the fo llowing:

Continuous atten tion to vehicles approach ing from

side roads.

Pa tience in slow traffic.

Alert to pedestrians specially t i l the vic in ity of

schools, mosques and hospitals.

Plan ahead for your destination prior to departure

and choose the adequate road.

Alert to any un ex pected situation that may occur

while driving.

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* Minimize chang ing lanes as much as poss ibl e.

* Avoid being distracted while dri ving.* Comply with the specified speed limit.

* Use the horn in case of extreme necessity.

* Yield the right-or-wuy to emergency vehicles and

o ffi cial parades.

* Signal your intension when shifting lanes or ex iting

one road 10 ano ther.

B- Driving on highways

Mosl hi ghways assign spec ific lanes to acce lerate

or decelerate to e nable drivers to adjust their speed to

merge smoothl y with the mo ving traffic. Upon enter

in g a hi ghway observe the fo llowing:• Signal your intension.

* Accelerate your speed gmdua lly to match the high

way traffic.

* Be cautious in e ntering the right lane of the hi gh

way and merge smoothly wi th the traffi c when

safe, or otherwise you may stop at the center of theacceleration lane. yie ld the right -or-way and enter

when the path is c lem·.

Upon exi ting a highway it is advisable to consider thefu llowi ng:

* Signal your int cll'. ion.• Move to the Inne adjacent to the ex it lane with a

suitable d istance.• Enler the ex it la ne before s low ing down.* Start slow ing down upon e ntering the ex it lane III

preperalio ll 10 ex it the hi ghway.



Emrancc r.IIl1P

c-Driving during

night

Poor vision at ni ght requires slowing speed ; it rc-

i r c ~ ;.lI so attention to thc bright light s that temlXlrar

L1y arrcct your vision, Avoid looking direct ly to those

light s.

To prevent dazz ling other dcrivers in the oppositedircc tion usc the low beam hCi.ld light s while driving.

Remember to switch on your vehicle's light s 30

minutes berore sun set and ti ll 30 minutes after ~ u nfiSC,

It is recommend ed to adopt the rollowing while

driv ing at ni ght :

* Park you r vehicle hy the side or the road and laJ..e

rest when you reel tired or sleepy.

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* Maintain eyes movement and avoid fi xating.

*Never use sun glasses at night.* Always use the head light s. and don't confine to the

small light s instead.

* Your driving speed should be less than the spec i-

fied speed limit.

.1-3 Scat licit

Resei.lrches and studies confirm that using seat belt

has contributed positively to the reduction of injuries

and its fata l effects in traffic acc idents. Here arc some

facts about the scat belt:

* The seat belt protects the body from colliding with

component s within or outside the vehicle and even

with other passengers.

* To remain in side the vehicle dur ing co lli sion is saf-

er thall to be th rown out.

*Seat be lt is required even in short trips si nce trafficaccidents within urban areas are more frequent

than in rllral areas.

* Children are always ill need for protec tion from ac-

c ident s. child seats he lp.

* Scat bel! does not ha rm pregnant women.

* Seat be lt in the rear seats has the same effect as in

the fronl seal.

* Seal belt secure the driver behind the steering

whee l. Ihi s sha ll help him to control the veh icle in

case the vehicle losl balance for any emergency or

acc ident.

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Not using th e seal belt affects th e e ffic iency of theai r bags in protec ti ng the driver and th e passenger

during acc ident s God forbids.

f- a ~ t e m n g seat belt IS oblJgatory to the dri\ef and the front seat

passenger. Ql1klren younger than ten)Clli"S 01 age are

not allowed to SIt tn the front scat

lO W the se.lt belts work during accidents?

In each acc ident th ere are in fa ct two separate co lli sions:

First: the vehicle co lli sion, as it coll ides with anobject and stops; the second , whi ch is the pa infu l one,because it in vo lves human co lli sions, it happens whenpassengers colli de with an object, whi ch is norm a ll y a

com ponent of th e ve hi cle, or an object out side it.Without scat belts passengers continue move ment according to the ori ginal speed of th e ve hi cle and collidewith objects such as steerin g whee l, th e w indscreen,the back side of the seats, or any other component in side or out side the ve hicle. Seal belts help in avoidingthis type of co llision. Those who uses seat belt areless subject to collide with oth er objects.

low to fasten the "'eat belt appropriatel}

Ensure fasten ing your scat belt

- 27 -

* Ensure the seat beltis not twisted.

* The belt sha ll belowered as possi ble.

* Tighten belt on thechest & stomach.



Child Scat

Fasten ing scat belt is

ob ligatory to the driver andthe front scat passenger

Remember that the traffic regulations in the Kingdom requires drivers to place firmly children youn ger

than 10 years of age to an appropriate scat equippedwith safety belt. Children of sma ll bodies frame evenif they are o lder than ten years of age must be firmlyplaced to an uplifted seat before fastening the seatbelt , and ensure that the seat belt is not pass ingaround the neck since it might cause suffocation.

3.4 I n ~ t U r a n t ' eThe traffic regulations obligate any vechicJe's

owner to have a third party co-opera ti ve insurancepolicy. In addition to the prominent significance of in surance ill disputes sett lement between parties involved in accidents and it's role in securing the consequent material rights, it also has a role to play intraffic sarety. That is because the insurance premiumreduced as far as the driver is abid ing by the trafficregulations and doesn't commit traffic violation or involved in acc idents as a pa rty at fault. You can obta in



Ilw u ~ a n c c po licy from the authorized insurancc\ IIlllpallles.

• Drhers c.;hould a h \ a ~ s he sure thut t h e ~ c ~ l r r ~~ till,.' insuranl,."e p o l i c ~it s ~ s t u n

Pursuant to thi s system a number of poi nt s arc a llo

l,lted to trarric viol;:ttions according to the nature oftl1l' violat ion and th e danger it represent s to the traffic"IIt' ty (see the following tab le) in such n way that thenu mber of poin ts expre sses the magnitude of the vio-1.lllI lIl in te rms of degree of its impact on the driver,lIld the safety of others on the road. Whe n a driverl'tlll llllits a traffic vio la tion the respective presc ribedp01ll1s are reg istered in the driver's record and will not

Ix' omitted before the e lapsi ng of one year from thedate of this violation, provided that the driver shouldnot have committed another violation during the.lIlle year. Whe n the accumulated points in the driv

n ' ~ record reHehes 24. the traffic regulation calls for..uspe nding hi s license for a spec ifi c period of lime.

1>0 )0011 kno\\ Ihat!

i-:xcessin' SPCI,.'tf and r u n n i n ~ n red light ("onslitutes

the majority urthe r c ~ i s t e r e d traffic viulaliOJ1s illlhc

Kingdom's roads and t h e ~ h,l\c direct impacl on the

Ol'CUl"I"cnce of many traffic accidl'nts

- 29-



..

Traffic Violation Points

Viola!ion tyJ>C P o i n t ~ Violation type Painh

Driving under alcohol or Passing ill arcas in whichdrugs influence 24 passing is prohibited 6

Drining (Tafllcclh) 2' Slopping over railroads 6

Running the traffic light Exceeding speed limit (l-Oll red 12 25 K II PH over posted

limit) 4

Driving a vehicle in the12

Driving wit hin unauthor- ,opposite direction of traf- izcd lanesfic flow

Maneuvering in high P a ~ s i n g school busesspeed between vchicles 8 when children arc board- 4on public roads ing or exiting

Failure to comply with Failure to secure (cover-the traffic police dircc-

8ing and tyi ng up) a trans-

4lions ported load

Driving a vchide without Carrying out modifica-b r a k e ~ or lights 8 l ions to a vchicle 's chas- 4

sis or trunk without ob-

serving the requiredprocedures.

Failure to completely Failure to use seat belt 2

stop at stop sign6

Fail ure to yield to the Using ce ll phone by hand 2right-of-way 6 while dr iving

Exceeding speed limit Not wearing a helmet(more than 25 Km PH while driving motorbikes 2

over posted limit )6

Failure to yield to theright-of-way to vehicles 6comi ng from th e left inroumjabout,



~ . . .

( )OJ. The speed limit for light s e d ~ m vehicle within urban

Lones is:A ~ 7 0 k m / h ~C. 5 5 k m / h ~

B. 6 O k m / hD 5 O k m / h

1)2. Is it a must to comply with the speed limit under allrircumstances?

A. Yes under all circumstances.

B. You must not always comply; instead you must consid·cr the road condition, weather conditions and the sur·rou nding circumstances.

C Upon the driver 's desire.D. A ll of the above.

).\. The blind are . is defined as:I\. The area which can be seen without mov ing one's head.

n The area which cannot be secn without moving one'shead.

(' ' n lC area which cannot be seen through the rear milTOf.I ) . The area which cannol be seen at all.

)4. The traffic rCJ,;uJution in the Kingdom obligateshath the driver und the passenger to usc the scat belton:

/I.A

llroads. B. Some roads.( ' Highways only. D. Within urban zones.

'\. If a drh'er runs the red light, the number of pointsto be registered ugainst him is:

1\ 2 points. B. 3 poi nts.(' 4 poin ts. D. 12 points.

rl. Requirements of driving in urban zones:.\ Attention to pedestrians.B. Planning ahead for you r destination prior to depal1ure

and choose the adequate road.{' Be alert 10 any unexpected situation that may occur

while driving.D. A ll of the above.

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r

4

Roads and

Traffic Signs

- 33 -





,\ road is not merely the1'.1111 designated for veh icles

olll y. hut it al so includes thehoulders, sidewa lk s, bicyclesI III, " . buses and vehicles parkII I pedestrian's crosswalksI t ld emergency and mainte-11 Ull'l' veh icles lanes. Moreo\ I I roads have their own trafI I "'gns such as the posted

11'11\. paveme nt markings andlI.d ftc signals.

Ex press highway

I ypcs of roads differ according to their usages, 10-,II Ions and engineering designs. There are express

ili l'hw':lYs, dual roads and single lane roads. Each oneIII th l'se types of roads has its respective traffic rul es1'111 'lIan! to the nature of its engineering design.

I )nvmg on the road entails abiding by the speed1111111 for tha t particular road and by its signs and1II,1I)..lI1gS, whether those posted on the road signs, or

.II pldyed on the pavement.

Single lane road Dual lane road

- 35 -



4-1 Road Intersections

A road intersection is the point where one road ormore intersec ts, whi ch indicates that ve hicles com ingfrom difrerent direc tions mcct each other. Thi s mayincrease the probab ili ty of co ll ision occurrence between them if anyone of these vehi cles drivers ignores the traffic regul at ions co nt rolling the tmffic atthat intcrsect ion, or if he docs not show enough cau

tion and alertncss when approaching that intcrsect ion.Moreover, road in tcrsections, especially inside c it ies.are uscd as crosswalks for pedestrians and are determined by p.lvement markings designated for them,which entails that a driver should stop berore the pedestrian crosswal k. The statist ics of the traffic accidents emphas ize that a high percentage of urban zoneacc idents occur at intersections. which means thatthese locations are potential places for accidents andthat a drive r shou ld consider this when approachingin tersections.

Different shapes of intersections.There are many shapes of intersections. bUlthc

most common ones arc as follows:

-

T-shapcd intcrsccion



Round-about imcrsccl ion

(+) sign imcn;cct ion

;cncral RuleAt the intersec tion of two roads where there is no

tra ffic s ig na l. you shou ld always yield the righ t-ofway to vehicles com ing from the right direc tio n. un

less the intersect ion is a ro undabou t, in which case the

right-of- way shou ld be yielded to the dr ive r com ing

from the left.

4-2 Road SignsA- Traffic Signs.1- Regulatory Signs.

Regul atory signs are used to aq ua in t the dri ver and

a ll road use rs with traffic regu1<11 io ns. pro hib it ion ...

- 37 -



and restrictions that sou ld be observed while drivingor us ing the road.

- Prohibition SignsCircular white signs with red frames in - 0icate proh ibition , e.g. No U-turn, No en-

try .ctc.

oo entry fromthis side ®No U-tum No left tum

No waiting area No park.ing &

No lVait ing arcll

- Mandatory SignsBlue Roundcd signs direct the driver to

a certain action, e.g. mandatory direction

to right or left

0 = =llndlltory fo rward Mandatory Jeft Mandatory right

Go stmight

Mlllld;l!ory dir<: tiollTum right

Go left Go right

M.mdmory Direc tions gIlstrdight or U tum



There are other mandatory signs with other shapes,

the most common or wh ich is the yie ld the right-orway s ig ns.

' . Warning Signs

The white triangular signs with red frames indicatewarning or hazard

& & ~Cluncl crossing Road works Traffic light

~ 8\ &angerous (:urvcs- Dangcroos curves- Dangerous left curvefirst right sharp

"'"",first left sharp bends sharp bend to the Icft

Pedestriancrosswa lk

- 39-

Road rwrrowsboth sides



.f

3- Guide SignsGuide signs arc lIsed to gu ide and direct drivers

and all road users to towns, villiages, roads and otherimportant locations along the journey.

Rectangular and square sig ns with differe nt

colors direct the driver 10 places such as hospital s. gas station, ... eel.

signs indicatingcities and vlJlagcs

direction

~ mc ~ t : l u m n t Ilos-pital

4- Signs of utmost Impo rtance

Gasoline\ 1: l l ion

(Speed- limit) s igns: or wha t is known as the maximum or speci fied speed. These s ings are usually whitewilh a circular shape and red frame with the speedlimil wfillen in black.

(S lOp) Sign: This sign indicates that the driver must

come 10 a complete SlOP when see ing it. They arc inred co lor of e ig lll -s ided 51Hlpe wilh the word (SlOp)written in white. The "SIOP" s ign is frequent ly lI sedand when seei ng itlhe dr iver should do the following:



•

Stop completely at the ~ I O p linc (<I white c O l l l i n l l ~till .. linc), In case of o n e " i ~ l e n c c of an aClual SlOp

fJllc. the driver should SlOp a l o n g ~ i d e the SlOp signl Hnsure that Ihe intersection is clear of vehicles and

pedestrians by looking around in all directions ofthe intersection.

Proceed with driving. If there are lIlore than one ve-hicle stopping al the "Stop Sign" al the intersec-lion. Ihe rirst vehicle to reach there have the right10 pass lhe intersection firM.

The driver m U ~ 1 ('Ollie 10;L

complete stop when seeing"SIOp sign"

- 41 -



(Yield) Sign: Thi s sign indicates

yield ing the right-of-way. It is used

\ lrequent ly at roundabout intersections

or at the intersections that have no traf-fic lights or stop sign. The yield sign isa white triangular with its apex downand a red frame.

When you see thi s s ign at an the intersection it in dicates that you can cross with caution and observethe following:I. Slow-down to stop if you notice that there are some ve

hicles or pedestrians at the intersection. You shouldstop before the SLOp line (a white continous line)

2. If you do not see any vehicles or pedestrians at theintersection, you should first slow-down and thenproceed driving across the intersection with caution

and attention.

(No Entry) Sign: This sig n indicates

prohibiting the entrance of a road and inmost cases it indicates that some vehicles are coming through this road. It 'sshape is ci rcular and its co lor is red witha white horizontal line in the middlc .

8-Pavement Markings

Pavement markings spread widely on roads. Some

are in the shape of specific lines or symbols in thep.lvement with certain co lo rs. such as the white andyellow lines. and some are jUlling out signs above thepavement such as the cat eyes and ceramic.

The pavement markings are divided into three

types:FirstSecondThird

Longitudinal markings.Transversal mark ings.\ymbols



I he Longitudinal Markings

I'hese representlhe lines found ill the center of the,oad or that divides the lanes.

I ht' center of the road lines:I hl' Broken White Lines

You ..hould drive to the right side of these

Imes or drive over them or cross them topilS" another vehicle or to take a left turn.

ht· conti nuous ' ' 'hite LinesYou ..hould drive to the right of thi s line,uRI it is prohibited to cross it or to turnIdt

Ilu Multiple ' ' 'hite LinesYou IIllist drive to the right side of theseIJIll'S and it is absolutely prohibited to\ 10 ... them or to turn left.

I continuous and Broken White Li ne.III this situation there are two pos itions;

I h Broken Line by your side.'O t l can cross the line and turn left

Broken Line by the other side:It , . prohibited to cross the line or to turnIi'll

I 'Il· .. dividing lines:I hl'''C are broken white lines to di vide

11,lIlIc lanes and allow shifting from oneI.lIl l· to :.mother after lIsing the appropriate.1).' llallight s and making sure that the lane

~ I I U IIltcnd ed to shin to is clcar of vehi,k ..

- 43 -

II



2. Transversal Markings

* The horizontal line at Intersections:

This line ind icates the point before which a dri ve rmust stop befo re apprO<lchin g an intersec tion co ntro lled by a traffi c signal or a "stop" sign.

3. Painted Signs

• Arrows.* Arrows to determine the traffic d irec tion: these arc

mos tly located at poi nts indicat ing thai a cross- roadis ncar. For example, an arrow poi nting to left ind icatcs that the lane is des ignated for turn ing left.

* Arrows ind icat ing to drivers that the end of the l,meis near and lhal the dr ive r must merge with anotherlane.

• Special Signs.

* At some roads there are pavements signs which indic .lle the type of road usage, for example, the bicycle symbol indicates that the lane is designa ted

to bicycles, and a hand icapped chair symbol indicates a place fo r uplifting or down-lifti ng d isabledpersons or fo r disabled vehicles parking.



( T raffic Lights

Red light indicates "SlOP" and must be acomplete stop.Green light indicates that a d ri ve r is pe rm it

ted to move to enter into the intersection . It Is always prefe rab le to e nsure tha t vehicles

at other sides of the inte rsection arc at com-plete stop.

Ye llow ligh t indicates tha t a d river must =repare himself to stop and it is always

preferable to stop when the yellow light ison if possible.

The Traffic Signals Arrows:The arrow determi nes the traffic flow

direc tion, e ither ahead, to the right or tothe left.

t\ rcd arrow indicates that the driver mustSlOp completely"complelc stop" .

1 !! recn arrow indicates that the driver canproceed or continue driving in the samelhrcction of the arrow.

1 Fhlshing LightsYe llow nashing light: Indicatcs that you can cross

ri ll' IIllc rsec lion withoLit stopping bUI with ulmost cauIUII1 mca nin g that you should slow down and mal.:e,tlrl' Ihm the intersection is clear of any other v e h i c l c ~,!tll ilhen proceed safely.

Red Flashing Light: Means Ihat the driver should'lime to a complete stop to ensure that the intersectiollI dear of any olher vehicles and then proceed safe ly.

, Pl'Cles trian Signals:l'l:deslrian signals allow pedestrians to

~ 1 l 0 W when it is permitted anel safe 10 cross theIliad.

IIll' a p p \ r a l l c e of a symbol of person or a

- 45 ·



raised hand in a red light indicates that pedes·

trians must stop and not cross the road. A grecnlight indicates allowing the pedestrians to cross.

4.3 Work Zones SignalsA work zone means that part of the road is under

maintenance and excavation works, whi ch cau ses aslowdown of traffic. In most cases, one lane, or more,is completely closed at thi s part of the road, leadingconsequentl y to es tabli sh a detour which guides thedrivers to cross the work zone smoothly and safe ly.

The traffic signs posted at the work zone focus ontwo main fun ctions, namely:1- Warning the driver of a worki ng zone and indicat·

ing the speed limit in thi s section of the road.2. Guide the drive r and direct him to the i<me to be

followed through the working zone. It should be

noted here that posting a low speed at the workzone consequentl y supersede the specified speedlimit for that road. Driving in excess of the postedspeed.limit in the work zone is cons idered a traffic

violation.

The most common traffic signs used at the workzones with <'1 yellow background, red frame and wri ting or drawing in black are thc follow ing:

>.-- ~ · · ~ l ~ ~ ' ~ - "-", t ,

Change J I-[)cWur

rc.:tionPropmeJ ~ p c c d

L!1oad narrow, on Road narrows on

Right lane clofICd

riglll left



~ > - " ' : ' : . ! L ; , . . . ~ > - .....""'_......,AO • .... Dr;TOUFI ~ .

Delour ahead Dctour2km

Warning s ign on a Cone wilh flag Barrelpost

Work zone signs are mostly in orange color

4·4 Traffic controlat

intersectionsThe types of traffic control may differ regardlessIII the intersection's shape and the diversity of themntrol devices as per the traffic dev ice used, as fo l.lows:

Traffic sigm l! conlrol

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Stop sign control

Yield ~ i g n control

Traffic I'olicc Control



Rou ndabout lntersection

At the roundabout you see the yie ld ~l g II which indicates that you should

\ 1I,.' ld the right-of-way 10 the vehicles in- aHl l' the roundabout approaching fromlilt' left. In case of passing ormany vchi-\ k ... inside the roundabout you m ~ l y en-In whenever YOll find an appropriate space amongsttll l' lIl which allows you to enter without d ist urbin g the\I'hides in side the roundabout

Rig ht -or-way in the mundilbout is todriven. approaching from len

[)o "ou know?

The numher oflru!1ic \iolaliol1" rl'AiSlI:rl'd on theKingdom's rtluds durinJ! thl' periud 1980-2008G

\.l'el'dl'd 8_' millinn \'iolutions at the rutl' of 4 milliun\'inlutions pl.'r )'cur

- 49 -



Q ui z

Q.l A Circuhu sign with a \Vhite Color background and red frame always indicates:

A. Mandatory.B. Warning.

e. Prohibition.D. Regulation.

Q2. This sign means

A. No Park ing & wait ing.B.

No left turn.e. Do 1101 enter.D. No U turn.

Q3. This sign indicates:

A. Maximum speed is 70 Kmlh.B. Minimum speed is 70 Kmlh.

C. Average speed is 70 Km/ h.D. All of the above.



\ white continuous line with a broken line atthe other side indicates:

A Pass in g and turning left.

B. Pass ing and turning rig ht.( ' No pass ing o r turnin g le ft.

D. Do not stop.

The Shape or the Yield Sign is:

, A triang le with apex lip.n Square.(' A triangle w ith apcx down.I) . C ircu la r.

- 51-





5

Safe Driving

- 53 -





SI)ccd

The main purpose of specifing a maximum speed

for vehicles on the road is to enhance safety throughel iminating the risks resulting from the tendency of

the dr ivers lO choose a speed which they believe isreaso nable. The posted speed limits represent themax imum speed the driver is lega lly allowed to drivewithin its range. However, the driver should take intot'onsideralion thaI Ihis speed limit suit s the engineer

ing design of the road and sa fety measures applied toit. A road design based on a specific speed and exceed ing this speed will represent a vio lation to the engi neering safety measures of that road and consequently creating a risk of having a traffic acc ident.

There is another matter of significant importance;

the speed lim it is specified assuming natural condi

tions and circumstances such as good weather conditions, day light, clearance of any traffic jam or maintenance work or any other ci rcumstances wh ich mayhinde r the traffic. Therefore. the driver should choosea speed that suits the road cond itions without exceeding the specified speed . Always remember that 40%

of the traffic accidents in the Kingdom are caused by

cxcessive speeds.The vehicle's speeds can be detected by radars and..urveillance cameras.

2 Running red light

Passing the traffic light o n red is called " runningthe traffic signal". This problem together with Ihe ex

cessive speed can be considered the main cause of fa I.t! accidents in our country. The entering of a vehiclemto the intersection whi le the signa l is on red m c athat the driver has comm itted a vio lation, name ly therunning of the traffic signal. Therefore. s lowi ng downthe speed in preparation for stopping when the yellowlight appears. makes it unlikely for the driver to run

- 55-



the traffic signal and hence he will save hi s life andthe li ves of others by avoiding a fatal accident.

The presence of the traffi c police is not necessaryat the intersection to arrest the vio lators of the trafficsignal, as there are secret traffic police, or the surv eillance cameras to perform this fun ction and arrest orregister the vio lators. In th is conn ection , it is wo rth

mentioning here that such ac tio n contradicts the teachings of our religion, Islam . In this regard , His Eminence, the Late Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz was onceasked thi s question: what is the ru le or Islamic judgment pertaining to the pe rsons who violate the traffi cregulations, fo r example those who run the traffic signal on rcd?

The answer of his Eminence was as follows "anyMu slim may not violate the Government's traffi c regul ations as this invol ves great danger and risk to thatperson and to others. The Government has set theseregulations out of its desire to secure the interests ofall its subjects and punishing such violators" and he

cited this verse from the Ho ly Quran (And most ofmankind will no t be lieve even if you desire it eagerly)verse" I03-sufilt-Yusuf'

Hi s Eminence. Sheikh Bin Ethaymeen had alsobeen asked the above ment ioned question and he re

plied by c it ing this verse from the Holy Quran (youwho be lieve! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle (Mu hammad. PB UH) and those of your (Muslim s) whoarc in autho rit y) ve rse 59-Sufil t-An-Ni sa (Thc Wom

en) and he went on to say that " If the ru lers have laiddown signs such as: stop signs, or proceed signs, weshoul d abide by these signs as this mcans we obey

our rul ers",



5.3 Drifting; (TuOlealh)Drifling is considercd a traffic viol ution. The driver

who commits drifting is penel ized for the first violation by detention of the veh icle for fifteen days and afine of 1000 (One thousand) S.R. and by detention of

the vechilc for one monlh and a fine of 1500 (Onethousand Five hundred) S.R. in the second offence.and detention of the vehicle and a fin e of 2000 (Twothousa nd)S.R. in the third time. In a ll cases the offender is refered to court to consider jailing him andconfiscation of the ve hicle.

5A Csing Mobile Phone by Imnd While Driving

One of the great ri sks whi le driving is the use ofmobiles. That is because, driv-ing requires focusing and paying , - - - - - - - - ,

attention 10 the road, and being

busy with the mobi le affects thi sfocus and hence reduces thedriver 's reac tion time when confronted with a hazard situa tionand may commit accident due toimproper reaction. Moreover,speaking on the mob ile may distu rb the d river's thinking or may

become excited which maymake him more like ly 10 cause .....- - - - - - - - '

an accident

.51>cfenshe DrivinJ.!The defensive dri ver is a driver who always rakes a

posi tive attitude tow.ards driving by focusi ng mainly

on sa fcty. Such a dri ve r is always patient , obscrvc !<othe feel ings of others and is wi lling to Up(hlle hi sknow ledge abou t the safe driving every day. Hi s sty leof dri ving is based on kn owledge. skill and tinderst:.mding and does not leave things to happe n acc idenlall y.

The defen sive driver is that driver who control s hi !<o

- 57 -



feelings regard less of the pressures, whi ch he e n c o u nters or the misbehavior of other drivers. Hence, he can

avoid accidents by controlling his feelings and e x c i l e ~ments and by focusing on driving and how to reachhis destination safely. Also, he is the one who checksall the directions of the road carefu lly while driving inorder to react in a better way to the road surprises andun expected events or to the faults that might be c o m ~milled by others.

~ - : ; . ~ , . . - - ~ - - - - / = - . . . . . . - - - - - ~ - - - ~ ~ ~ . . . . - ~ ~ ~ ? ' - - - " ' ; - : ? ~~ O b t D h d n ~ u r l v l o ~ Ii('rnse m('1U1S that }t1U :Ire I m u ~ o f a n d ~~ ; ~ ~ ! ~ ~ ~ l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : ~ j J ~ ! - ~ ~ ~ ~ 5 d : P ~5.6 u l c ~ that must be Kno" It

* Give chance to vehicles that want to pa ss you b e ~cause the road is th e property of all .

* Pedestrians have the right to cross the road. e s p e ~cially the children, elderly and the di sabled.

* High headlight s and dazzling lights an noy other

drivers and may cause traffic accidents.

*' Keep enough distance between your vehicle and th e

vehicles ahead of you to avo id collision with themif they stop suddenl y.

* Control your emotions and actions when faced by

some si tuation along the road that mi ght excite you

and make you nervous. Always be alert.



II., not make any unnecessary shifting from your

LUll ' , IIls tead stick to your lane.

I'lall ahead your trip.

I ' , I I ~ your vehicle properly at the designated park.

III).! areas .I :"l' the safety devices when your vehicle breaksduwn and keep it away from the road.I{('t.:ogn ize the meanings and significance of the

IllIllIe signs and directions and be guided accord·11I).tly,

1)0 nnt d rive in excess of the speed limit, and slowclown your speed when there is a reason for that toIvnul causing an accident.

• III "i ingle· lanes roads keep at the extreme righthen you drive through an elevated section or

'hen you come across a curve or at intersections.• PlY attention to the signs that indicate animal cross·1I1i!. (espec ially camels).

• Whcn you feel fatigue while driving for long dis·

! l I I 1 I : C ~ , stop driving and walk for a while till you

I I refreshed.

• "ituw down your vehicle speed when there is rain,Ing or sandstorm.

• \ void pass ing other vehicles in bad weather con·lluinns and use the flashing lights.

• In hud weather conditions it would be better to exitlIway from the road and stop at a safe place.

• When it starts raining , you must keep enough dis·tlillce from other veh icles and refrain from pressingthe brakes strongly, or driving on the un.paved

p trt!C of the road.\twnys remember that you should hold the drivingIkcnse, the vehicle's registration and the insurancet!,x;ume nt and all these documents should be valid .I (tllow the tnlmc police directions and instructions.Y icld the right·of-way to emergency vehicles.



Prior to ~ t a r t i n g Jour lrirJ. it adyis'lhl(' 10 makesure

of Iht' following:

* Plan in advance for the intended trip.* That the vehicle dashboard indicators (temperature.

oil , fuel etc . ) are functioning properly.* That the wipers are functioning* The emergency devices are

in place (warning triangle,

fire extinguisher).* Check the oi l level.* The Radiator water.* Adjust the mirrors.* Close the doors properly.* Ensure all windows and

windscreen surfaces should r : : ; ; , - - = - _ ~ - : - ~ _ =be clean and free of any Fire extinguisher andobstructions. warning triangle are

* Make sure that the signal lights necessary in :lIlyvchicle

and head light are working.* Make sure that the seal belt is in order.* Make sure that the tires and the spare tire are In

good condition

Uncivl h/.cd behaV ior



Q I. The most fatal and common traffic violations inthe Kingdom are:A. Excessive Speed.B. Run ning the traffic signal on red.C. Excessive speed and runn ing the traffic signa l on red.D. None of the above.

Q2. The Defensive Driver is the one Who:I. Is a professional drive r.

2. Part ic ipates in intema tiona l mllies.\. Drives the vehicles at a slow speed.. , Always has a positi ve attitude towards drivi ng.

Q3. When you feel fatigue while driving you should:A. Stop driving and walk for a whi le to get refreshed.B. Continue driving.C. Put on glasses to ease the eye fatigue.D. All of the above.

- 61 -





6

Sharing the Road

with Others

· 63 ·





6. 1 Pedestrians

Us ing the road isa common right forthe drivers as wel las the pedestrians.Therefore. a driver...hould respect theright of pedestrianshy observing thefo llowing:

I. Be alert and Driven. h o u l J respect pedestrian's gslow down yourvehiclc speed to prepa re 10 SlOp at the pedestrian'S

crossi ngs.2. Give the pedestrians the chance to cross the road

safe ly at wide intersec tions ..1. Do not stop on the pedestrians Jines at the intersec

tions.4. Slow down and drive with cautious at schools.

mosq ues, markets and public squares where morepedestrian s arc expected

Rl'rnernher Ihal m!)'1 nr Ihl' Iledl"lrain·s.retaledIlddenls uccur al sunwl nr durinj.: n[j.:hl due 10

puur \ bihilil}

6.2 BicyclesCyclists are con

sidered users of theroad who have equivalent rights as tho seof vehicle drivers.Therefore, the drivershould give the right of-way 10 the cycl ists. if so requ ired.You should respect or

Drivers shou ld be alcn while d rivi ng I I!residenti:!! areas

- 65-

-



give consideration to the lanes designated to them.Also remember also that some children play with the irbikes and may appear suddenly on the road, especiallyins ide the residential areas, therefore yo u should drivewith utmost cautious in these places and you shouldbe alert at all times whi le you are driving.

6-3 Persons with Special needsOur Islamic religion urges us to co-operate and as

sist each other, and it is more rewarding to offer suchassistance to a di sabled brOlher. Therefore. you shouldobserve the following cases relating to this categoryof the society .* Crossing the road by a person on a wheelchair mayrequ ire longer time than the time taken by wa lking

persons. Therefore you shouldbe

patient and wait tillthis person crosses the road safe ly.

Drivers should consider persons withdisability on wheel chairs

- 66-



. -

~ ~I "

Parking designmoo (or disabledpersons only

-

A bli nd person cross ing the road is di stingui shed bycarrying a white stick.Some of the car parkings are reserved to the persons w ith disabi lity through some indicat ive signs.Parking your vehicle on these pl aces is considereda violation as per the traffic rul es.

6·4 Schools StudentsDrivers should abide by the speed limit while d ri v

mg in roads adjacent to schools, which mostly, docsno l exceed 30 krnlhour. Most of the running over accidents take place ncaf schools because of excessive

Be ale" 10 school students in the vicinity

- 67-



speed and due to not paying attention by the drive rs.Remember Ihal students, especia lly in the primary and

intermediate levels, may nol be aware of how 10 crossthe road, therefore you should always observe this.When you sec students getting out of a schoo l bus it isalways advisable to stop till the school bus proceedsand titt you make sure that the road is clear ahead of

you.

6-5 Emergency VehiclesGiving way to emergency vehicles such <kS mnbulances, c ivil defense vehicles and patrols ve hicles is amailer of high significance due to the humanitarianservices provided by these ve hicles, which entail thatthey should be ..lIowed to reach their targeted destinations in the nearest possible time. Therefore, whenyou recognize an emergency ve hicles com ing from

the back through its flashing lights or by hc,aring thesiren, you should open the way for them withoul endanger ing yourself or the other drivers.

Yield the right-of-way 10 emergency vehicles

- 68-



6-6 Road WorksVery frequently a part of the road is closed for

maintenance and construction works. which requires alow speed drivi ng to ensure the safety of workers althi s pan of the road. Remember that excessive speedin add it ion to not paying suffi cient attention at workzones may endanger the life of those workers and mayC.IUSC injury or death.

Slow down your vehicle sp(:cd and be alenwh ile cross ing through work wncs.

lJO)1I1I kl\l)\\ Ihut!

1 lit' numhrf of injun·d pl' l" ' ;UnS dul' 10 th t' .1l'1.' idl'nb\llmh un' urn-d on tlu.' KinAdum's r m l d ~ during Ihr prriO(I

!IJXn-2UUKG stuud at morr Ih.1II 7X-',Uon mjuril's.

- 69-



Quil

Q1. The majority of traffic accidents which occuradjacent to schools arc:

A. Collision between veh icles.B. Running over.C. Turning over.

D. None of the above.

Q2. Most of the running over accidents affectingpedestrians occur at sunset or during the night,because of:A. Excess ive speed.S. Crowded pedestrians in the streets.

C. Poor visibility.D. All of the above.

Q3. When crossing a work zone, you should do the

following:A. Slow down and be alert.S. Change your palh to another road.

C. Stop driving.D. All of the above.

-70-



7

The vehicle

- 71-





"

Taking care of the ve hicle and conducting a periodica l maintenance is one of the important factors that

contributes to reduc ing the nu mber of traffi c acc idents. apart from the occurre nce of sudden breakdow ns, which may affect the veh icle operation. Theperiod ica l vehi cle inspection at au thorized sta tio ns isone of the important ma tters that should be fo llowedon periodical basis. The inspection would detect theve hicle's defects on th e spot and hence they can be repaired to avoid accident s. The veh icle's periodical in

spection includes inspec tions for the different partsand components which affect the safe usc of the ve hicle. Not present ing the ve hicle to the annual periodical inspection is considered a traffi c violation.

Selection of genuine spare parts represents a cruc ial e lement to the safety of the ve hicle. It is wc ll

know n that there are commerc ial spare parts whi ch

may serve the requi red purpose fo r a short period oftime, but they have adverse im pact on the vehicle'sperformance and safety. Therefore it is advisable touse genuine parts, especially those re lated di rectly tothe safety of th e vehicle such as the brakes and tires.

7.1 Tires

A significant portion of the traffic acc ident s occurdue to the use of bad or wo rn out ti res. II is very im portant to change the tires on periodical bas is and replace them with good ones which suit the Iype of thevehicle and the weather condit ion of the Ki ngdom asrecommended by the tires manufacturer.

There are two types of tires: rad ial (w ire) and diagonal bias (nylon) . The radial type is the best type due

to its characteris tics such as its tolerance to high temperatu re, mainta ining ve hicle's balance at turns <l llda llowing comfortable dri ving because of its ability toabsorb a great deal of the road's roughn ess in addit ionto saving fuel consumption.

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The most important reasons that lead to wearingout or bursting of the tire are the following:

I. Excessive weight.

2. Excessive or low air pressure.

3. Excessive speed.

4. Surrounding temperature.

5. Exposure of tire to shocks.

6. Storing in wet places or ;.I t high temperature.

7.Sudden brak ing or sudden shi fting to a higher speed.

8. Non-balancing of t ires.

9. Drift ing (TalllCeth).

When choos ing tires for your veh icle it is necessary tocons ider factors that have direct impact on the safefun ctioning of the tire and which prevent it from sudden breakdown. These factors include the speed, ex-

1'1'\)1\1 IIUJ1Ipcr

R . c ~pil'C'll linhgc

Steering Wipc",lIall Joints

1',,,m b m ~ e s

Tires

Rcar vicw mirror

1'"",1 tank

r Shock ~ ~ O f b c r' 'a rking brake

Cranh h. f1 linkage

Exhaus1 box

-74-



cessive load, temperature. usage conditions and roadcond itions. For instance, tires are labeled with certain

codes according to maximum speed limit. Thesecodes are labled on the tire as shown in the fo llowingtable:

Code Speed Km/Hour Code Speed Kmfl-lour

L 120 S 180

M130

T190

N 140 U 200

P 150 H 210

Q 160 V 240

R 170 Z Above 240

Regarding the ti re load, each tire has a maximumload after which it will bu rs t. The load is indicated by<l number wh ich is labeled on the tire as shown in thefo llowing table:

Cod< MaJlimum Load Per Tire. Kg

18 462

84 500

"515

" "'"89 ' w91 ..100 lSW

108 "''"132 , ~150 JJ>O

188 10.000

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Moreover, each tire has a pre-detennined level of

air-pressure wh ich is shown on one of its side wall.The driver should m'lke sure that the air pressure insidethe tire is not in excess of the s ~ c i f i e d pressure po int.

Wi th regard to the temperalUre, tires can be classified into three categories (A, B, C) each category of

tire having a maximum level of temperature to beused below it. For example code (C) means that a tirein this category should be used under low tempera

ture. Based on thi s. the most appropriate c<1tegory forthe climate conditions of the Kingdom is category (A)and then category (B).

Another important issue to be considered when replacing the lires is the lire's manufacturing dale,which is composed of three digi ts, where the fir st andsecond to the left s ide indi e<l te s the number of theweek, while the thi rd number denotes the year. Forexample, in the number (25 1) the two digits (25) indicate week number twellty five whcrC<ls the third number ( I) indicates the year of manufacturing. wh ich is200 I. Note it is not advisable to purchase a tire that isover one year from the manufacturing date.

We adv ice the users when purchasing tires, to referto the use r's mallual which is avai lable with the tires

distributors.

-76-



T",adwur

ManUrac1unnsdatc(Mans wilh I" " w<:<cL

and ends wilh I" "

year)

Maximum

-,"'"

Tc"'pC"ltUR:....

120 130 140 ISO 160 170 180 190 200 210 NO 270 )(.1

Sro-lliymbol L M N I ' 0 R STU /I V W 'r

-77 -



7-2 Vehicle's BreakdownsIf your vehicle breaks down, switch on the tlashing

lights, which indicates that your vehicle is out of orderand can not move, or that it is moving very slowly orthat you are confronting an emergency. The followings are the most common vehicle's breakdowns:

A. Tire blowout: when a tire burst, follow the following steps:

*Lift your foot from the accelerator and do not app lythe brakes, otherwise the vehicle will be tippedover.

* Hold the steering wheel finnly and maintain the vehicle's direction in a straight line till it stops.

8. Failure of brakes: when you discover that the

brakesof

your vehicle are outof

order, you shoulddo the following:

* Bring the gear back to a slower position to slow thespeed of the vehicle.

* Repeat pressing the brakes in an attempt to regainthe brakes oil pressure. When repeating this threeor four times you will know whether the brakes

wi ll return to their nonnal function or not.* Use the hand brake, but you should remember that

you should release it if it becomes clear that the vehicle is going to slip.

* Use the horn and the flashing lights to draw the attention of other drivers to your critical situation.

*When there is no need to change the direction bymoving out of the road, you may in this case turnoff the vehicle 's engine safe ly.

·78·



C. Breakdown of the steering wheel: When the engine turns off while you are driv ing , it is difficult

to control the steering wheel. In this case youshould attempt the follow ing steps:

* Turn the steering wheel strongly using both hands inorder to reach the side of the road.

* SlOP the vehicle, you will find diffi culty in using thebrakes in automatic vehicles.

* Try to re -start the engi ne with caution.

D. Headlight failure: in case that the head lightswenl off suddenly during night driving, adopt thefo llowing:

* Move the vehicle away from the road and tum onthe fla shing light s.

* Try to switch on the lights repeatedly.* Upon failure to sw itch on the light, turn on the

emergency fla shing lights or the signal lights.

E. I f the engine hood is opened: If the engine hood isopened suddenly to an uprigh t pos it ion whi le you aredri ving your vehicle, you shou ld do the fo llowing:

* Tum on the flashing Ijghts.* Slowdown your vehicle speed.* Try to see from under the cover, if no t poss ible, do

the follow ing:* Try to see through the window.* Make use of the lane markings as a guide for you.* Keep away from the road as fa st as you can with ex

treme caution.

F. Breakdown of the Accelerator:* Adjust the gear in a neutral pos it ion for the ordi

nary vehicles and to (N) position for the automatic

vehicles.* Use the brakes.* Pay attent ion to the road and start pulling your ve

hicle off the road.

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* Draw the attention o f the o ther drivers 10 you rcritical situation by us in g the horn or the flash ing

li ghts .* Turn the engine off.

7-3 Emergency Conditions

There are emergency circumstances which necess itatea compulsory stop of th e driver on the road side. In

such situation you should act ns fo llows:

* Pull away from the road by a distance not lessthan two meters if you fail to find an appropriate

parking

* Place a warn ing tri ang le nt a di stanceof 50 meters in

front of the vehicleand another one at adisl::lnce of 100 me ters behind the ve hicle in th e s ingle- ...........

lane road Usc Ihe wa ming lrianglc in case

of a ve hicle breakdown

* If the road is a dua l or multilane hi ghway and youare forced to stop on one of these lanes, you shouldput a warning triangle at a di stance of 10 meters behind the ve hicle, and another warning triangle at a distance of 100 meters behind the vehicle al so. Do notforgel to co llect the warning tr iangle prior to movingyour vehicle.

Remember also that many accidents occur becauseof un safe stopping near the highway, whether for repair o f a defect in the ve hicle or for any other reasons.

Slid ing is another unexpected event which occurswhen driving a vehicle. Sliding occurs when the degree of fri ction between the tires and the road surfacereduces. When the vehicle slides, act as follows:

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I. Tum the dri ving wheel in the d irection of the sliding.2. A void pressing the brakes peda l.3. Slow down your vehicle speed gradually.

4. If your vehicle is equipped with (ABS) systemwhi ch prevents locking the ti res when using thebrakes, you should, under wet road circum stan cespress the brake pedal strongly and continuously toacti vate this system, even if you feel that the brakepedal is becoming loose or is pushing your foot up.(ABS ) system helps the driver to control the vehicleand maintain its direc tion in a straight line when

sliding on the road due to ra in or other causes.

I)n kmm thut!The numher or deuths resulkd rrom truffic uceidenlsthat occurred on the Kingdom's roads durin!.: thl' pl"

riod 19HO·20mU; CXl'ccdcd to9.0UO l'aSuultil's

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Quiz

QJ. The advantage of the vehicle ' s periodical in-spection is:

A. Early detection of defects.B. Repairing the defect to avoid accident s.C. Raise the level of the vehicle's safety on the road.D. A ll of the above.

Q2. There are three categories of tires, namely (A ,B, C) and the most suitable ones for the Kingdom's weather are:

A.C .B. C.BC. A,then BD. B then A

Q3. When the steering wheel breaks down, youshould do the following:

A. Move the steering whee l with both hands.B. Stop the vehicle.C. Try to fe-start the engine.D. A ll of the above.

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8

Traffic accidents

- 83-





8- J A voiding AccidentsIn most cases, drivers choose one of three options

to avoid acc idents: stops quick ly, veer the ve hicle oraccelerates the speed. Fo llow ing is a summary foreach reaclion selected:* To stop quickly. use the brak es and when the vehi-

cle slides, stop using the brakes, then press thebrakes one time after the other till the vehiclecomes to a complete stop.

* When you don't find lime for slopping. try 10

change the direction to pull off the road, in order toavo id collid ing with other ve hicles and try nol 10use the brakes whil e chang ing the direction.

* Some times it would be pre ferable to acce lerateyour speed to avoid acc idents, part icularl y when acertain vehicle is about to hit you from behind, oron your side.

If you fa il to avoid the accident, try to protect yourself as much as you can, but you should allow otherd ri vers to know what you are intending to do whileyou are driving your vehicle so they can avoid coll iding wi th yo u. By fo llow ing the guidance and instructions mentioned be low, you wi ll be able to avoidmany acc idents:

I. Blind areas:The driver can nol see the vehicles in the blind areas th rough the mirror and he should turn hi s head 10be able to see other ve hicles in these areas.

2_ The Spero LimitYou are legally not allowed to dri ve in access of

the speed limit as posted on the road's speed limi l

signs, Regardless of the speed limit , your speedshould take into consideration the fo llowing:

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A. The number and speed of the vehicles on the road.B. The road's surface condition, whether soft or

rough, earthy, or wet, wide or narrow.C. The road's slope (high or low).D. Pedestrians and cyclists on the road sides.E. Rain. fog. winds, sandstonn and dust.F. The nature of the area you are crossing (schools,

mosques. markets).

Driving in excessof

the posted speed limit isco

nsidered a disastrous danger. Also, driving very slowly,especially on the highway, may lead to causing dangerous accidents. Therefore. you should drive at speedclose to the speed limit and observe the speed of thesurrounding vehicles on the road.

The faster your speed, the lesser will be your abili

ty to con trol the vechicJe, regardless of observing thespeed limit.

Many of the new drivers do not take into consideration the safety factor by slow ing down their speedaccord ing 10 the nature of the road and the drivingconditions. Hence, these drivers do not act properlyand may cause traffic accidents due to lack of experience in driving.

- 86-



3. CurvesAt road curves there is a side push force on the ve-

hicle (the centrifugal force) which pu shes it awayfrom the curve. To avoid exi ting the vehicle from itspath, you shou ld slow down prior to entering thecurve and remember that using the brakes while pass-ing the curve may lead to sliding your vehicle andtipped over.

4. Work Zones:Curve Signs

The work zones are locations where disastrous ac-c idents increase. It is well known that the victims of

these accidents are from the users of road or the work-ers at those sites. It is also known that work place, re-quires closing part of the road or the whole road ,hence, the dri ver should be cautious to pass the workzone safe ly and this entails abiding by the traffi c s ignssuch as the detour signa ls .. etc, and the in structions of

the persons in charge of the work zone.

Warning sign ona post

~~ 5.:-- 5 l' ~ l &Cone wi th nllg

- 87 -



.1

Every driver shou ld remember that the speed limitat the work place is less than the speed lim it at other

parts of the road

s· Wet RoadsYou should slow your vehicle speed when the road

is wel. Th is is because, when there is rain or other liq-uids on the road, the frict ion coefficient between thetires and th e road surface decreases at the speed of 80km/h .and the veh icle will appear as if it is moving onwater. Therefore, any s light deviation in your path or

occurrence of a medium level winds may le.ld yourvehicle to slide and you will loose control over it.Al so remember that pressing the brakes strongly onthe wet roads leads to slid ing.

8.2 Colliding with CamelsCamels represent a danger to the traffic now whenLhey cross through the unfenced roads. The shapes or

the camels are dirrerent rrom the shapes or other ani-mals. T hey have huge bod ies and long legs, hencetheir centers or gravity are high and th is is the reasonbehind the occurrence of ratal traffic acciden ts whenthe vehicle hit camels. The reasoning ror this is that

vehicles fi rst hit the legs and then the mass or thebody rall s on the passengers' cab in in the light vehi-cles.

Studies pro ved that trarflc acc idents caused bycamels in Ihe Kingdom constitute about 94% or theanimal s hilling acc ide nt s. and 85% of these accident soccur between 6:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.I11., i.e. du ring the

night.In addition. studies indicated that the rate or inju-ries in the accidents caused by camels represent rourtimes th e rate of the traffic acc idents in general where-as the death rates exceed six times the rate of trafficaccidents in general.

·88·



To avoid collid ing with camels, you should observethe following instructions:I. Slow your specd when YO ll see a camellcamcb

ncar the road

2. Switch on the flashing lights or signa ls and observcvehicles arollnd you, especially the ones behindyou.

3. Wail t ill Ihe camels cross the road complete ly.

- 89-



t

4. The warning triangle which has a camel's symbol

indicates camels crossing area. When you sec thissign you should be cautious and reduce your vchi ·de speed.

5. You should be aware of the typical behavior of

camels; they do not get scared of vehicles and do

not move away from vehicles when they see them.6. You should pay attention to the traffic instructions

and warni ng signs issued or announced by the conce rned autho ri ties to avoid th is problem.

8.3 The accident's site and crowding.

When yousee theflashingIighlS of avehicleahead ofyou, youshould re-duce yourvehicle L..__ ...................

speed as there might be an accident or an emergencyon the road.

Alflid c r o \ \ d i n ~ ur ~ 1 I 1 h l · r l l l J . : around tht' lIccidl'lll, or di,·

..sil'rs ,itt's Ollt fir · l I r i O , i t ~ . h('('lIW.l' thi . \\ ill hindl'r III(' n ' ~ ·t ' u j n ~ ( l l)t 'rutinl l ' i and n U l ~ l ' l I l l l i i IlItJrt' m'l'jell ' lIt ' i

- 90-



8.4 Intensity of the Accident

The intensity of the traffic accidents which rangesfrom a simple fall from a bicycle to an accident in

which many vehicles are involved, may cause manyinjuries. In most cases, the site of the accident repre-sents high risks for safety due to the slow traffic flow.Therefore , always try to keep away from the acc i-dent's site by resort ing to another road to allow theemergency teams (traffic police, ambulance, civil de-

fense) to ca rry out their rescue duties without any dis-turbance or confusion.

8.5 How to act when you see an Accident?

If it happens that you are the first person to reachan accident's site, you should behave as follows:

Make the place safe:

First: Personal safety precautiousPay attention to your personal safety by not doing

anything that endangers your li fe. Stop your vehiclesafely away from the road after you pass the acci-dent's site and turn on the flashing lights. Checkwhether there arc injured people. Do not run through apath which is crowded with vehicles. If it is at night

wear or carry a shining or reflecting object and use atorch.

Second: The General Protective PrecautionsMake the place safe to prevent the occurrence of

another accident. Infonn the traffic police or the am-bulance or the c ivil defense. If there are injured peo-ple trapped inside the vehicles invo lved in the acci-

dent ask the bystanders to warn the other drivers toslow their speed. Pu t warn ing triangle, signals orligh ts at a dist.mce of 45 m at least, aw,ty from thetraffic's si te and at both directions of the road. Switchoff the engine of the vehicle affected by the accident

- 91 -



.. ,

and if possible disconnect the vehicle 's battery. Keepthe vehicles involved in the accident at stable pos ition

by using the hand brakes. If a vehicle is lean ing onone side, do not adjust ii , but try to prevent it fromturning upside down. Draw the attention of the emergency services to any damaged electric wires orspilled out fu c l from the vehicles affected by the acc ident or the existence of the "danger" signs on them.

Dll not rll l l\ .. the Itllun.:d p .:rsotls u n k \ ~ }Otl t l l lJ

thCllIlI!Sld,,:.1 h u m J t 1 ~ \\,: tUI.-It: or 11 the) an.: II I J.U1-

gl.:r \ 1(1\ Ill,!! mlured JX'r'tl lh h.lf l l l tht:m .lIlu l l l.tI l) 01

th .- p . l r . l ~ I ' ..ast." ilL" tiT .1' ,I rc ..uh oj thl '

Third: Rescuing the persons injured in accidentsCheck the inju red and make sure that Ihey arc still

breathing. Stay with the injured person and re lieve hi s

worry lill the ambu lance reaches the s ite of the acciden t. Try to be calm if you afe at the place of the accident and remember that acting promptly is very essentiaL While you are waiting for the ambulance 10 reachthe accident's site, you may take the follow ing steps.

Stan

II

U n c o n M : i o u injured

IIf u pcriOn j , ,H-cltlled OUlsidc of the car,fix h he, ld ,111([ lied .. m;ing yuur hand ,md

open ,lIr palh by pushing lhe juw up

ward. removc nil objects fwm in side Ihc

jaw, c 'IJCcinlly the artificial tccth aud lhc

ocher o b , t a c l which may bloc k the ,Iir

p;:tth of lhe injun.-d

- 92-

IConscious injured

He kl"t'fl 10 rdic ...

Ihfln Mnd ~ ...cthem runllnuousl)'



8·6 Stopping acute Bleeding

The most likely cause o f dc.alh when acc ident s oc·cur is the bleed ing; however, you can stop the exte rnalbleeding easily if you fo llow th e s teps explained be-low:

I. Locate th e place of the bleeding and press it direct-ly usin g a clean piece of cloth .

2. If the bleed ing occurs at onc o f the limbs, li ft thispart up and keep press ing as thi s gesture alone maybe enough in Illost cases.

3. Usc a bandage to cover th e wound and lic it app ro-priately, but be carefu l not to tighten it to the exte ntthat it inte rrupts th e blood c irc ul ation from rcach-ing the other parts of the body.

4. Press po ints: If the prev ious atte mpts fa il to SlOp

the bleeding. YOLI may press by the palm of your

hand on the interna l side o f the humorous be tweenarmpit and th e elbow in case of the upper partbleeding. and press the inlern a l front part of theupper thigh in case of Ihe lower part bleeding.

Do not rt.'plllcc thl:' pil'cc of doth uith a n c \ ~pil'{"t.' it the hlt.'cding contillues; rlltlll"r

plact.' a lieu Olll' Oil lup of he old.

· 93 ·



Firs(: Fix straight thehead and neck

Third: Covet !.he woond wi thbandage

Second: Hold lip the limb andpress to s top the bleeding

Fonh: Plam hand pressing tostop the bleeding

- 94-



8.7 Hazardous Materials

Traffic accidents may even become morc compli

cated when hazardous materials spi lled or whcn toxicvapors leak out. Keep the bystanders away from theacc ident's site and stand opposite to the wind's direction. If you notice any "danger" signs on the vehicles,infonn the emergency team about them. If you aredoubtful about your safety or if you noticed any "dangerous" sign , keep at a distance and stay at a safeplace if therc is any leakage of nammable or hazard

ous materials.

Phone Numbers of Emerge ncy authorities

Security patrols 999

Saudi Red Crescent Authority 997

Civil Defence 998

Traffic Accidents notification 993

Road Security Police 996

- 95 -



. (

=. ! l i . . ~.......... ~.. .hoI.. .""

Signs of hazardous materials on trucks

- 96-



8.8 Factors Influencing DrivingThe teachings of our religion Islam prohibit drink

ing alcohol and using narcotics (drugs). The traffi cregulations and rul es stipulate that whoever is in vo lved in a traffi c accident and found to be under theinfluence of narcotics, or alcohol will be dealt withstringentl y (ph ys ica lly and morally). The penalty im-po sed on such persons may extend to suspend ing thei rlicenses for a period of one ye ar in addi tion to applying the Sharia punishm ents. On th e other hand . some

of th e medi cines taken by some drivers may affecttheir level of concent ra tion and proficiency in dri vin g.This applies to the other types of drugs which are purchased by a prescript ion from ph ys ician or over-lhecounter, including the prohibited drugs. Now, cons ider these fac ts:

* The medi cine prescribed for curing headache, nasal

congestation, influenza and tranquilizers, causedrowsiness which affect the driver 's focus anddriving skills.

* Taking medi cal drugs, rega rdl ess of their types ordoses, has its definite impact on the driver 's focus.There fore drivers should consult and get confLrma lion from the ph ysician or the pharmacist about theextent of influence of the drugs they take on their

abil ity to drive.

You should make sure that )OU are "eUlmare

of the resulting efffects of using an} I)pcs of

drugs 011 }uur focus nhilc drhing

- 97-



- Fatigue and StressFatigue weakens the driver's focus which will have

adverse effect on his reaclion to the dangers that mayface him on the road, in addi tion to making him feelsleepy while driving. To avoid this, the dr iver is advised to do the following:

Properly plan the trip .

Take a rest prior to starting your trip and avoidstarting it immediately after the working hours.

Do not try to drive for a long distance continuouslyduring the night.

Stop and take rest after every two hours of drivingand take snacks and hot drin ks.

Move y,?ur eyes continuously and talk to your tripcompanions.

Listen to some radio programs and usefu l cassettes.

- Vision and hearing

While yo u are driving, you need to see objectsclearly. In fact many of the acts you do whi le you aredriving depend on what you see ahead of you. Thus,if you are not able to see the objects ahead of youclearly, your judgment of the distances ahead of youwill be incorrect which may consequently affect taking appropriate decisions. Some people can see wellduring the day but they can not do the same duringthe night, particularly on the roads that lack sufficient

lighting. Hence, you should check your eyesight anduse medical glasses, if required.

- 98-



Hearing is also as important as eyesight. Youshould check your hearing to measure the extent of

your ability to hear the voices around you as theremight be some voices which you need to hear prior toseeing their sources to pay attent ion to them, especially in places where visib ility is low.

Listening to the radio or cassette player at low vo lum e will help you hear voices outside the vehicle.

Do ou knO\\ '!Tlw \olume of economic IO"'-'it's resulting from

traffic accidentsIn

tht, Kingdom is estimatl-dal S.H. 21 Million 8nnuall)

- 99-



Quiz

Qt- The faster the speed:A. The more you wi ll be respected by other drivers.B. The more the insurance premium wi ll increase.C. The less con trol you will ha ve over the veh icle.D. Wililcad to failure of operating the (ABS) system.

Q2. When you see camels crossing the road, youshould:

A. Slow down your veh icle speed and wait till thecame ls cross the who le sect ion of the road.

S. Slow down your speed and no need to wait.

C.Usc the hom continuously_D. Increase your speed to prevent them rrom crossing

the road.

Q3. When there is an accident or an emergency onthe road, how will you act:

A. Provide assistance if I can.S. Use another roa d to allow the emergency and res

cue teams to reach the s ite and rescue the injured.C. SlOP the vehicle near the place of the accident.D. The above-mentioned in paras (A+B).

- I ()()-



9

Behaviors that lead

to license suspension

- 101 -





Abiding by the traffic regulations and instructionsis a major pre-requisite to avoid being involved in ac

tions that mi ght lead to suspension of driving licenseand disqualify the drive r form driving. The conductthat leads to violating the traffic regulations have negati ve impacts, which includes caus ing harm to you orto others or the legal consequences of paying fin esand other legal procedures. Ho wever, the adverse im pacts do not stop there, but may extend to include registering black points on your record at the traffi c di

rectorate. For example, wh en a driver commits aviolation of running a red light, in addition to the payment of the financ ial penalty, twelve black points willbe registered in his driving record. If he continues repeating this violation, this balance of black point smay reach 24 points within one year where his drivinglicense will be suspended.

In contrast, abiding by the traffic rul es by not commiuing violations will make your record clean and notcontaining any black points. The traffic regulationscontain some provision s that encourage the drivers tomaintain their record clean. Committing a traffic violation is not the upshot or does it mean that you are adangerous driver. The law stipulates that " If one year

elapses after a driver committed a traffic violation andhe did not commit another violation, the driver's blackpoints pertaining to that violation will be omitted au tomatically from the system, consequently hi s recordwi ll be clean of any violations.

nu \UII I.IW\\ I h . l l ~

I h ~ impal"l, .,f Ir.l l l ir .u·ddt·nl t·,lt·1II1 hn "mllht·~ ' ~ · I I I W I I I I \ I""t·, Iu lIU"huk "It 1.11. IIt,.11t1l ,lIId

I " ~ fhn l,':':ll.ll IlIIp.ll h .

- 103 -





Appendix (1)

Tables of the traffic violations

pursuant to the Traffic Act issued by the Royal

Decree No MISS dated 26110/1428H

and it 's Executive Act issued by the decree

No. 7019 dated 3n!1429H

of H.H. Minister of Interior.

- 105 -





6'ioIations Table No. ( 1 ~Penalties for Violations Table No. ( I) are 500 to 900S.R. fine, or detention of the vehicle as welt. These vi olations are:

1. Driving a vehicle without having a driving license.

2. Driving a vehicle without registration plates (deten

tionof

the vehi

cle till the violation is settled).

3. Driving a vehicle without rear registration plate(de tention of the vehicle till the violation is sett led).

4. Driving a vehicle with registration plates that donot belong to vehicle (detention of the vehicle tillthe violation is settled).

5. Using irregular registration plates (detention of thevehicle till the violation is settled).

6. Installing fittings resembling those of offic ial andemergency vehicles(delention of the vehicle lill Iheviolalion is seuled).

7. Erasing or try to erase vehicle's identification signs.

8. Driving under the intluence of alcohol, drugs or

medical drugs that is warned of driving under it' sinfl uence.

9. Running traffic light on red.

10. Driving a vehicle in the opposite direction to traffic flow.

II. Maneuvering in high speed between vehicles 011

public roads.

- 107 -



12 . Exceeding speed limit (more than 25 Km PI-lover

posted limit) .

13. Passing in prohibited areas such as curves andheights.

14. Slopping over railroads.

15. Failure to secure (covering and tying up) a transported load

16. Carry ing out works on public roads without priorcoordination with the concerned authorities.

17. Fai lure to completely stop at stop sign.

18 . Not yielding the .right -of-way by completely stopping at the yield sign.

19. Not yielding the right-of-way to vehicles comingfrom right in equal right-of-way intersection i"nthe absence of right-of-way sign.

20. Not yielding the right-of-way to vehicles in themain road in the absence of yield sign.

2 1. Failure to comply with the traffic police direct ions:md not giving his directions priority over trafficsignals.

22. Failure of incoming vehicles to yield to the right

of-way to veh iclesin

side roundaboutsin

the absence of traffic lights or a traffic police.

23. Driving a vehicle not equipped with the necessaryapplian ces such as brakes, lights etc which jeoppard ize public safety.(detention of the vehicle tillthe violation is settled).

- 108-



24. Failure to use necessary lights while driving or in

bad wea ther.

25. Driving a vehicle in tunne ls without switching onlights.

- 109-



6'1oIaIions Table No. (zyPenalties for Viohu ions Table No. (2) are 300 to 500S.R. fine or detention of the vehicle as well. These viMolations are:

I. Carry ing out modifications or add itons to vehi-cle's chassis or body without observ ing the lega lprocedures.(delent ion of the vehicle till the violation is sett led).

2. Operating of industri al, const ruction or agricullura j pub lic works veh icles on roads wi thout takingthe necessary precautions including absence of reflecting wi ng signs. . detent ion of the veh icle tillthe violat ion is sett led).

3. Driv ing a vehi cle thatca

uses po llution on publicroads (detention of the vehicle till the vio lat ion issettled).

4. Exceeding speed limit ( 1-25 Km PH over postedli mit).

5. Messing with regula ting traffic road signs, reflec

to rs or poles.

6. Non-stopping in check po ints or security paLro ls inthe presence of SlOp directions or signs.

7. Fa ilure to observe traffic regulations in crossroadsand intersections.

8. Usc of vehicle for purposes other than licensed for.

9. Exceeding number of perm itted passengers.

- 110-



10 . Tmnsporting passengers in places not designed forthem in vehicle.

I I. Refu se to present driver's or vehicle's docum entsto the auth orized personne l.

12. Not observ ing lanes out lines.

13. Leav ing objects on public roads that may endan-ger public sa fety.

14. Not yield ing right of way 10 VIP convoys or emer-gency vehicles.

15. Passing school bu ses when children are boardingor exiting.

16. Driv ing with expired driv ing license.

- I I I -



(Violations Table No. (3V

Penalties for Violations Table No. (3) arc 150 to 300S.R. fine. These violations are

I. Absence of trailer's legal requi rement s.

2. Not presenting the vehicle for techn ica l in spection

3. Using high beam head l ight whi le there arc oncom-

ing ve hicles.

4. Fai lure 10 take necessary precautions when SlOp-ping the vehicle on publ ic roads in cases of emer-

gency.

5. Placing obstacles inside the vehicle that obstruct

dri ver's vis ion.

6. Not carrying driving license or ve hicle's registra-tion whi le driving ..

7. Lc<lving of vehicle unattended in a descending roadwithout taki ng necessary precautions.

8. Violating traffic regulations on roads.

9. Fa ilure to preserve ve hicle 's registration plales.

10. Fai lure to compl ete vehicle's ownership rcgistm-tion procedures

II . Failure to complete the procedures or chang ing or

ve hicle 's utiliza tion.

12 . Fa ilure to use scat bell

13. Failure 10 use appropriate sarety seats designed rorchildre n

• 112-



14 . Failure to observe right-o r-way rules.

15 . Failure to export a vehicle inte nded for e xport in

due dale.

16. Us ing ce ll phone by hand while dri ving.

17. Abuse the use of vehicle's ho rn .

18. Not wearing a helmet while driving motorb ikes.

19 . Driving in unauthori zed lanes

20. Fa ilure o f anima ls' owners to keep them awayfrom roads.

- 113 -



(VIolatlOJlS Table No. (4 1)

Penalties for Violations Table No. (4) are 100 to 150S.R. fine . These violations are

1. Using unauthorized appliances in the vehicle or fixing stickers or slogans of indecent material.

2. Unnecessarily leaving of veh icles on pub lic roads

in prohibited arcas.

3. Throwing any objects outside the vehicle whiledriving.

4. Driving a veh icle without front registrat ion plate.

5. Exiting or boarding whi le the vehicle is moving.

6. Crossing of pedestrians in unauthorized zones.

7. Failure of pedestrians to comply to pedestrian traffic signs.

8. Causing traffic congestion by driv ing slow ly.

9. Parking in No-parking areas.

10 . Parking in handicapped parking zones.

11. Failure to focus on the road while driving.

12 . Absence of insurance policy.

- 114-



Appendix(2)

Traffic Signs & Signals

- 115 - 1i



!



II Warning Signs II

& £ & £ ~~ b < n d o ~ _ 1teYc<x_ K e w n e _ _ . . . . . . l.--., . . . , io1\

. . """_ . . . . .

II>

1<.R - L

~ ~ L 1 1 & &>escenl AscenT II.....__ Ihtrood. . .", . . . lit <_"""01

k""Plrft on j . . . . . .& £ ~ £ bho..__ 11__ .. ROU(!II road hump C_""""

' """ ' . . . . . . . ~ . , . r i __

& ~ ~ &-117-



~ ......- ~ " ' "ri&"

- 118-

) a n " " ~ " " " , , , , ,



& & & & &c _ WOlerC""",,,, R.......,. S . . . . 1Iridp 1lM1raooI . . . . . . . .

" ...-

& &&&&... ..... 01.... s..llaoooIo.n. MoOn_ s-._o..n._ .................. l.icIM""'--"willi. Uft . . . . . . . . . ...--& ~ ~ ~ ~ m

150 100 ~" " "

- 119-



Regulatory Signs

®S8®®

Mui_"".... ~ . . . . . . _ ...."'.. ""whida .,...,. .......-ptGhibioooI , .-

8@@S........ ~ w ~ -..-... No . . . . ktI Soap

•••

®®es \ lNo U Tum

- 120-



S8@®0o_ No"'CUlIOB.-. C_ Priorityror""""",,"1 1>11,........._

nffi< 100,__. .... 1 0 1 i 1 1

~ ~ .

OSo ~ o r h r i < ' " CIooc.<I_dirccUoooo No_ I> No, ... .. _

--.A:.JI r.:.tl.,k-o~ ~ j . J JTrucks

Keep Righi

anirnab . . . .. ..... .

•

-121 -



At ~ 10 At _Jo-ti-IO

.... iJhIon", ... lhokft .... t;hlon", ......

''''

- 122-

.....-......,



IIGuide Signs

II

a w [i!J- ~~ - ,- Y _ I-

-

- 123-



&i!Bi!!i .- _ ..I I,. --

- .....-...... - - -

-124-

--~



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-------- ..----_._--

w . . . . ~t ......._-

..-

-125-

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\\ " '.one

si:::Jl

)(

Cl ~()O'-'oo c,-,

-126-

00

........

-

I ~ = ~ l---

L!,,- ' """'1.01

DETOUR AHEAD1500 "'. ,. '0·'

0 .- '"-I11500 . .



~~--L Drum

Tllhut. o..lintalOr VMicaJ PaMI

T)'pc [I Donie"""

- 127-



Finally .. .The authors wish that the efforts they have been exerted in

writ ing this manual have achieved the aspired objectives in

establishing and deepening the traffic safety culture and

concept for the road users. This effort remains in need for more

deve!opmenr and updating through the contribution of

whoever concerned by way of making comments, remarks and

suggestions and sending the same to the authors on the

following address.

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology

•

Dallah PDF

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