The perpetrator of the drifting violation in Riyadh was apprehended with stolen license plates
The General Directorate of Traffic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced in an official statement that its field teams were able to apprehend a driver who committed the offense of drifting in the city of Riyadh, in an incident that reveals the vigilance of security personnel in dealing with reckless behaviors that threaten the safety of road users.
The Saudi Traffic Department explained via its official account on the social media platform “X”, that the arrest was not just a monitoring of an ordinary traffic violation, but investigations revealed that the driver of the vehicle resorted to a criminal trick to hide, as he put stolen plates on the vehicle while practicing drifting, thinking that this would prevent him from being reached or his identity being determined.
Intensive efforts to combat the phenomenon of drifting
This operation comes within the framework of ongoing security and traffic campaigns launched by the Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of Traffic, to eliminate dangerous driving behaviors. Reckless driving (drifting) one of the most serious problems that society has suffered from for years, given the heavy losses of life and property it causes, as well as the fear it instills in residents of neighborhoods and on public roads.
Recent years have witnessed a remarkable development in monitoring and follow-up mechanisms, as oversight is no longer limited to field patrols, but has included the use of modern technologies and artificial intelligence to monitor violations, which has tightened the noose on reckless individuals and made it difficult to escape punishment, no matter how varied the methods of camouflage, such as obscuring or replacing license plates.
Legal dimensions and deterrent penalties
Legal experts point out that the current incident has a dual criminal character; it is not limited to committing the offense of drifting, which is punishable by the traffic system with heavy fines starting from 20,000 riyals for the first time and reaching 60,000 riyals with confiscation of the vehicle for the third time, but it extends to the crime of stealing and using license plates, which is a felony that requires discretionary punishments and separate judicial procedures.
This strict enforcement of regulations underscores the commitment of the relevant authorities to enhancing road safety and achieving the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals of reducing accident rates and resulting fatalities. The driver of the apprehended vehicle was referred to the Traffic Authority to face the legally prescribed penalties and to the competent authorities to address the criminal aspect related to the stolen license plates.
The General Directorate of Traffic urges all drivers to adhere to regulations and laws, and to refrain from practices that endanger their lives and the lives of others, stressing that public roads are for safe transportation and not arenas for showing off and adventure.
