Ministry of Transport pays a great attention to safety on roads. The best technical standards are adopted during the studying and designing of roads that insure implementing those roads using the best modern materials and equipment's that meet safety and security conditions. Beside the appropriate design of roads, other safety factors including various instructive and directive signs, paints, reflective signs, means of drainage, various protectors and fences are provided. In addition, existing roads are being monitored and safety factors are being improved at once. The Ministry also participates with the interested authorities in different committees regarding traffic safety on roads.
Safety means on roads:
Roads are provided with all safety factors to ensure safety and security of their users, the means that the ministry implements are:
- Road shoulders paving and fix their sides.
- Widening the bridges, equal to the road and its shoulders.
- Building side parking.
- Painting the middle and the sides of roads and providing them with reflector marks (cat's eye).
- Providing roads with protection fences, informational sings, and direction sings, warning and guiding signs.
- Fencing all highways to prevent loose camels from crossing the road, building crossing points on roads to facilitate the crossing of these animals and put traps on all the sub-exits on the highways.
Functional classification of roads:
Ministry of transport started working on the functional classification of roads in 1405, and it was updated in 1418. This classification included a description of the roads network paths. This classification is based on the concept that each road has a starting point and ending point, and the main directions of roads are South-to-North and West-to-East, so the road starts from South or West and ends at North or East. For example, road number 40 that starts from Jeddah and ends in Dammam with a length of 1370 km.
Routes are divided into three categories according to that concept:
- Main roads: are the roads that start with one digit or two such as, 5 and 22 in the middle of the Kingdome's map. They are also the roads that connect the Kingdome's regions with the large cities.
- Secondary roads, are the roads that are assigned by three digits such as, 222 in the middle of the roads map. Also, they are the roads that connect between medium-population cities with the main roads network.
- Sub-roads, are the roads that are assigned by four digits such as, 3333 in the middle of the roads map. They are the roads that connect between villages, hamlets, farms and others other routes.
These numbers are added on the informational signs on all routes. In addition, some authorized national institutions started to produce atlases and roads/routs maps that contain this classification which made them easier to use.
Moreover, main routes on the road network in the Kingdome are numbered as follows:
- Road number 5 starts from the border point between Saudi Arabia-Yemeni borders and continues to North alongside the Red Sea Shore passing Jizan, Al-Shuqaiq, Al-Qunfudhah, Al-Lith, Jeddah and Thuwal. Then it passes East of Mastorah by 6 km then East Al-Rayis then Yanbu Industrial city , Yanbu Al-Bahr, Umluj, Al-wajh, Duba, Al Bedaa, Haql and it ends at the Saudi-Jordanian borders near Aqaba.
- Road number 10 starts from the intersection of the coastal road path number 5, then it goes East passing Addarb, it also goes North passing Abha, Khamis Mushait, Tathleeth, Al-Khmassin, As Sulayyil, Al Kharj and Haradh. It continues then towards East until it ends at the Saudi-Emirati borders at Batha border point.
- Road number 15 starts from Al-Wadiah in the South and goes North until Sharorah passing Najran and Southern Dhahran until it reaches the intersection with road number 10 in Khamis Mushait. It then continues North passing Al Bahah, At Taif, Makkah, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Khyber, Tayma, A-Qalibah, and Tabuk until it reaches the Jordanian borders.
- Road number 40 starts from its intersection with road number 5 in Jeddah and goes East passing Makkah, Dhalm, Al-Ruwaidhah and Riyadh until its intersection with road number 615 in Dammam City.
- Road number 50 starts from its intersection with road 40 in Dhalm and goes Northeast passing Afif, Al-Bijadyah, Al-Duwadimi, Shaqra, Al-Majmaah, Al-Artawiyah and Hafer Al-Batin then end at the border point with Kuwait North of Ar-Ruqi.
- Road number 60 starts from its intersection with road number 5 in Yanbu Industrial City then goes East passing Badr Hanin, Al-Wastah, Al-Hamrah, Al-musayjid, Al-Furaysh and Al-Mufrihat. Then, it intersects with the Ring Road in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah and Riyadh A-Khabra/ Al-Bukyriyah road, passing Buraydah. It then stretches East passing Az-Zulfi and Al-Artawiyah until it ends in Al-Jubail.
- Road number 65 starts from Howtat Bani Tamim and goes Northwest passing Al-Ha'ir and Riyadh through Riyadh Ring Road until it meets Riyadh / Al-Qassim Highway passing Al-Majmaah, Buraydah, Shraa, Hail, Jubbah and Nabek Abu Palace until it reaches Al-Qurayyat.
- Road number 70 starts from Al-Ula running to the East , crossing route number 15 until it reaches Hail City and ends at its intersection with road number 65.
- Route number 75 starts from Kharkheer and goes North until Hard passing Al-Udhailiyah then goes Northeast until it meets road number 615. Then, it goes Northwest until the Northwest of Al-Hofuf .It then runs Northwest again crossing road number 40 passing Urayarah and Al Nairyah until it ends by intersecting with road number 95.
- Road number 80 starts from its intersection with road number 5 in Duba then goes to the Northeast passing Tabuk, then passes Sakaka and Badanh until it ends in a the border point between Sauda Arabia- Iraq boarders at the North of Arar.
- Route number 85 starts from Al Nairyah then it runs Northwest alongside the pipeline passing Al-Qaisumah, Rafha, Arar and Turaif until it ends at its intersection with route number 65 in Al-Qurayyat.
- Road number 95 starts at the Saudi- Emirati borders, passing Batha, Salwa and Al-Uqayr then it continues towards the Northwest, passing Abu Hadriya and ending at the Saudi-Kuwaiti borders.
Secondary Roads were also numbered and some of them are:
- Road number 135 that starts from its intersection at road number 5 in Thoul passing Rabigh, Mastorah and Badr Hanin and ends when it meets the starting point of road number 60 intersecting with road number 5 in Yanbu Industrial City.
- Road number 205 starts from its intersection at road number 15 in Al-Bahah and it goes North passing Belad Zahran until it ends at its intersection with road number 15 towards the East from Al-Taif.
- Road number 333/ Al Madinah Second Ring Road, starts at its intersection with road number 15 Southwest Al Madinah and runs clockwise until it returns to the same intersection.
- Road number 517, Al-Kharj/Riyadh Highway, starts from Al-Kharj with its intersection with road number 10 and goes North until the intersection number 18 which connects the Southern side to the Eastern side of Riyadh's Ring Road.
Moreover, to facilitate identifying the distance on roads, the classification and numbering of roads included details, whereas the starting point is zero from Jeddah and the ending point is 1370 in Dammam.
Also, all roads were equipped with informational signs. They include the road number at the top of the sign and the distance from the beginning of the road to the location of this sign (written vertically) according to the directions of the road where odd numbers are used if the direction is from South to North and even numbers are used if the direction is from West to East. For example, informational sign located on road number 40 and also located at the informational sign number 260, then the number of the road , which is 40, is written on the top of the sign and the informational sign number 260 is written vertically.