Saudi Gazette

DAHBAN — The University of Business and Technology (UBT) in Dhahban, north of Jeddah, hosted on Thursday the “Safe Driving” program in cooperation with the General Directorate of Traffic in order to provide female students with the necessary knowledge and traffic skills to achieve safety while driving.

The event is a conscious and wise start toward the implementation of the decision to allow women to drive in an orderly and disciplined manner in terms of preparations.

Around 1,000 young men and women attended the first awareness program, which was held in the presence of UBT Rector Prof. Osama A. Jannadi, Col. Zaid Al-Hashem, public relations director at Jeddah Traffic Department, top UBT officials and other distinguished guests.

In his speech, Col. Zaid Al-Hashem said the rates of road accidents and fatalities among the youth were very high.

“This is advanced driver training and safety event for our young females to help them make enlightened decisions before they get behind the wheel,” Al-Hashem said.

“As Saudi women gear up to enter the field of driving, this event will go a long way in creating awareness in them and making them familiar with the important aspects of driving,” he added.

Jannadi emphasized the importance of starting the driving with education. “The event is a fun-filled and engaging way to show students and the community the things that can go wrong on the road because of careless decisions, as well as the simple things they can do to stay safe,” he said.