Work pressure mounts on policemen patrolling highways during Ramadan.
Arab News visited a checkpoint on the Madinah-Makkah Expressway.
They work in extreme heat as they fast. Motorists who use the expressway day and night always find policemen patrolling streets and monitoring road safety around the clock.
Salman Al-Anizi, the man in charge of security on the Madinah-Makkah Expressway, told Arab News that the job of his men are the same all year round but that “in Ramadan we increase the number of patrols and checkpoints."
"They make sure motorists drive within speed limits and keep an eye on the road in order to prevent and detect any irregular or criminal activity, forgeries, smuggling and trafficking,” he said.
“We also check on people to spot those who are in violation of their residency permits. Needless to say, we detect and stop speeding. The other day, we stopped a driver who was doing 250 kilometers an hour and referred him to the traffic department,” he added.
“For us, peak times are between late afternoon and early evening, and from sahoor to sunrise. We usually increase the number of personnel during Ramadan,” he said.
Arab News witnessed policemen engaging in voluntary work, guiding and directing buses and family cars to a center for those fasting to break their fast while they themselves break their fast on the go.