Since the middle of the 14 th Hijri century, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved a remarkable economic and cultural development. Many new industrial, agricultural, and commercial projects have been established, and the number of cars has increased rapidly, causing much traffic on the roads of the main Saudi cities such as Riyadh , Makkah, Al-Madinah, Jeddah, etc. The mission of controlling traffic was assigned to police; the traffic division controlled traffic, collected penalties, and investigated traffic accidents. The first traffic law was issued in 1345H.
The traffic divisions grew and became departments and centres all over the Saudi cities. Traffic divisions reported to the regional police and followed the 12 th chapter of the Public Security Law issued by the Royal Decree dated 10/8/1369H. To cope with the rapid increase of numbers of cars, the traffic law was amended by the Royal Decree No. 3125 dated 10/11/1361H.
In 1391H, the comprehensive traffic law was issued by the Royal Decree No. 2/49 dated 6/11/1391H and then executive regulations were issued.
In 1381H, the general department of traffic managed the branch traffic Administrations. In 1387H, the Department was restructured and its responsibilities were defined; it reported to the Public Security, but it had a separate budget to spend on the required projects and plans.
In 1400H, the general department of traffic included 16 branch administrations all over the Kingdom.
To provide the administration with qualified professionals, the Institute of Traffic has been established, and many qualifying courses have been delivered. Many officers were sent on scholarships to other countries to gain advanced skills in the field.
In 1390H, number of cars was 144.768 cars and in 1399H the number of cars increased to 1.723.000. The required procedures to control traffic were taken. Integrated networks of roads were established, and bridges and tunnels were constructed.
The Department studies phenomena and designs solutions following modern approaches and advanced technologies and techniques. The media is used efficiently to enlighten the public and help save human lives and properties.