What is the very first thing you have to do if you are driving in saudi arabia
Prayer is the first thing you have to do if you are christian, ask God for your safety & your passenger God will send his angels to take care of you.. GodBless to All
SOME INFORMATION THAT WILL HELP US TO BE AWARE WHILE DRIVING IN SAUDI ARABIA,
There's a saying ignorance to law excuses no one so be aware of the law
Road accidents in Saudi Arabia
Working in Saudi Arabia is a challenge, but driving in Saudi roads is much more than that. Unfortunately, Saudi Arabia has one of the worst records of road safety in the world. This post is meant to guide those expatriates working in Saudi Arabia who are caught in an unfortunate accident. I really wish none of you use the tips given here and everyone has a safe drive on the roads. Nevertheless, it always helps to know what to do in an emergency. Ignorance is not bliss, it is dangerous :-?
One of the most important thing while driving is carrying your documents with you. You MUST definitely carry your original iqama, vehicle insurance card, driving license, vehicle registratiion (istemara) and vehicle ownership cards with you all the time. Remember that driving in Saudi Arabia without a valid insurance is a crime and you could be jailed for the same. Unfortunately, these rules are strictly implemented only for expatriates working in Saudi Arabia and not for the local
Usually new cars should be covered with a comprehensive insurance, but it is economical to take a third party insurance if your car is more than 5 years old, as the book value of your car would have been almost reduced to zero due to depreciation.
The first thing you must do if you are caught in an accident is NOT to move your car until the police arrives. Just put on the hazard lights and stand by the road side, and do not bother about the traffic behind or ahead of you. If you try moving your car, you could land in a more serious offence of trying to tamper with evidence, so be careful
Once the police arrives, they will first ask for your iqama and you as well as the other party will be asked to go to the police station. If the accident is serious, usually an ambulance would accompany the police and the area would be cleared of the junk in no time.
When you reach the police station, all conversation would be in Arabic, so if possible try contacting your Government Relations Officer / your sponsor / any of your Arabic speaking friends over phone and ask him to come to the police station immediately. Try to avoid signing in any kind of document until your sponsor arrives on the spot. Remember, this is the most important part.
You may sometimes find yourself in a tight situation that your sponsor cannot come and that the police is forcing you to sign some document. In that case, do sign but write above your signature that you do not understand anything what is written above. Believe me, this is for your own safety.
Never ever reveal to the other party that you have vehicle insurance. It is very common for the locals not to carry any kind of papers including insurance ( I am not blaming all of them, but this is usually the case). Once the guy knows that you have insurance, he may try to negotiate with the cop and see that a part of the blame is shifted on you (again, one cannot generalize, but it happened to me, so be careful). The cop will usually split the fault to both the parties as a percentage, i.e., 0%-100%, 50-50, 75-25 or 100-0% etc. This refers to the percentage fault and the amount of damage also varies in proportion to this. Of course, if someone hits your vehicle from behind, he is at 100% fault.
The next few days could be traumatic without a vehicle as you would be asked to bring three quotations from authorized workshops. The lowest of the three would have to be borne by the other party, if he is at fault or vice versa. The amount is to be paid / recovered from the other party in front of the police and only then the case would be closed. Make sure that this is done, because you would not be allowed to leave the kingdom on vacation or on exit as it would appear in the computer against your iqama number if it is still pending.
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Hit and Run Accidents
A hit-and-run accident occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, a pedestrian or an object, and the driver of the offending vehicle drives away without stopping first. When this happens, the driver of the offending vehicle has just committed a crime. If you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident, call the police at your first chance. It's best if you can call the police from the scene.
If you're the driver of the offending vehicle in a hit-and-run accident, you will need to contact the police as soon as possible. You'll be in a better position if the police don't have to come looking for you. You might want to contact your lawyer first.
GodBless us have a safe drive....
Saudi Arabia
Emergency Hotlines
Police Medical Fire
999 997 998
Traffic police - 993; Rescue emergency - 911, 112 or 08
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