Britain’s popular tabloid newspaper Daily Mail sent a journalist to Saudi Arabia to report on dangerous stunt driving performed by young Saudis almost every day on the sandy roads in the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom, describing such acts as crazy and death-defiant.
The report was dedicated to what the paper described as “sidewalk skiing” that involves driving a vehicle onto its side. It published pictures showing such risky acts in the vast desert nation despite the recent enactment of more stringent penalties for stunt driving.
“Parallel parking is tricky enough for some motorists, but for others there is nothing more exhilarating than jumping behind the wheel and performing these death-defying stunts…..when it comes to such a hair-raising hobby, nothing stalls these adventurous youths in Saudi Arabia as they bring a whole new meaning to the term 'off road',” it said.
“The latest craze among young Saudi men is dubbed 'sidewalk skiing'. It involves a driver racing along before manouevring - most likely with the help of a ramp - the vehicle onto its side….the daredevil group like nothing more than to step it up a gear when it comes to hitting the road near the northern city of Ha'il.”
The paper said describing such acts as “dangerous driving” would be “putting it mildly”, with motorists who perform such stunts “risking life and limb - not to mention their licence.”
It said the highway code goes out of the window and there is not a backseat driver in sight when these “adrenaline junkies are showing off their skills.”
“Instead, the passengers prefer to cling on for dear life on the outside of the vehicle as it tears along on two wheels at breakneck speeds. And in a large middle eastern country made up largely of desert, there is plenty of open road for them to pursue their testosterone-fueled pastime,” it said.
It said that to make matters even more dangerous, the driver is literally joined by what it described as hangers-on who attempt to stay aboard on the outside of the vehicle.
Some even take to sitting in the middle of the road and allowing the truck to speed over them, it said.
“It has proven to be a popular spectator 'sport' as well, with excited onlookers cheering with delight as the action unfolds before them. But onlookers would certainly be advised not to try this at home - not least because it would be next to impossible with the long tailbacks regularly clogging up Britain's roads.”
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