In recent days, surveillance cameras on Jeddah’s streets recorded 500 violations, with 300 for running red lights and the others for speeding.

Jeddah traffic police plan to deploy 1,500 patrol vehicles at the city’s main thoroughfares to deal with the expected congestion from holidaymakers this summer, a senior official said recently.

Col. Zaid Al-Hamzi, spokesman for the department, said traffic officers would patrol Tahlia, Al-Andalus, Palestine, Al-Arbaeen and Al-Sabeen streets, and the Al-Balad and corniche areas, particularly at peak hours.

Al-Hamzi urged drivers to comply with the country’s traffic laws to avoid fines and other penalties. He said surveillance cameras on the city’s streets recently recorded 500 violations, with 300 for running red lights and the others for speeding.

Drivers have asked the traffic department to deploy more patrols in some of the city’s main streets. “I always struggle with traffic because I head to work early in the morning,” said driver Hassan Al-Alkami.

He said he spends around 30 minutes in Palestine Road every day because of the congestion. “I rarely see police vehicles or patrols in the street which leads to more traffic jams,” said Al-Alkami.

He said he recently crashed into a car in front of him because the driver stopped suddenly.

“There were no police officers present at the time, so I had to contact the traffic department to send a patrol to the site.” He said the police arrived more than two hours after the accident.