Car drifters arrested following ‘scary’ display

Traffic authorities in the Saudi capital Riyadh have arrested several drivers who recklessly drifted their cars on a major highway, putting their lives and those of scores of others at risk.

“The drifters frightened the drivers on King Khalid Highway and could have caused several accidents,” the police said.

“They were arrested following the monitoring of the video clip showing them drifting their cars on the highway. They will be referred to the commission tasked with traffic violations that will decide the length of their detention and the fines they will have to pay,” he said, quoted by Saudi daily Al Riyadh on Thursday.

In their comments, Saudis called for taking stringent punitive action against the drifters, insisting that it would be the best way to help end the ominous phenomenon.

A social media user writing under the moniker of “Extremely Honest” said that the drifters were ‘terrorists’

“They should be jailed for at least two years and the authorities should revoke their driving licences because they are ‘road terrorists’ who are undermining security on the roads,” he said.

Khalid, another user, said that “the problem goes well beyond what these young men did.”

“It is also a family and social issue that should be tackled collectively. For a start, these drifters should be kept in prison for some time, and I suggest that their fathers should be locked up with them, so that they all ponder the consequences of putting people’s lives at risk.”

Another user said that they were ‘road lunatics’ who must be kept away from mainstream society.

“People need to feel protected from their crazy behaviour. Maybe, they should recruit them into the army and impose on them a really strict way of living,” Kajmalo said.

Abu Shad said that the spectators lining up on the highway should also be sent to jail for encouraging the reckless driving.

However, some users lauded the “special bravura” of the drifters, saying that they displayed impressive skills.

“They were all good, but the drifter in the silver car was outstandingly impressive. He was a real artist. I wish him the best,” Jeddawi, a user, said.

A user under the moniker “Former Drifter”, said that drifting was “the great art of driving and controlling the car in challenging conditions that is given to very few people.”

“You need professional skills to perform what they did. Only those who cannot or do not know how to drift are prompt to criticise and protest. People have the right to use, display and hone their special skills.”

Drifting, or “tafheet” as is known in Saudi Arabia, is banned in the kingdom and the local authorities have regularly launched campaigns to arrest thrill-seeking drifters who, with little regard for traffic, attempt to outperform one another in taking their cars to the limits of control and in drifting at high speeds. The practice has at times caused casualties among curious spectators.

The authorities, as a form of deterrence, have been treating all deaths related to drifting as homicides resulting from criminal negligence.

In November 2014, a court sentenced a well-known car drifter to ten years in prison and to 1,000 lashes.

The “King of Nadheem”, as the drifter called himself in reference to a district in the east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, was also banned from driving for life for causing the death of a passenger in his car as he was showing off his drifting skills, the court ruled.

The “King of Nadheem” gained fame in Saudi Arabia after his “exploits” in drifting, an extremely dangerous but hugely popular practice in the kingdom in which drivers deliberately spin out and skid sideways at high speeds, were posted on social media.

source : gulfnews