Saudi Gazette
ALTHOUGH women will be allowed to drive in the Kingdom in less than three months from now, many say they still feel nervous.
Congested traffic and reckless driving on Saudi roads are among the worst concerns for women wanting to learn how to drive or who have experience driving abroad.
“Not having to wait for a driver to take me everywhere is convenient but I imagine it’s going to be dangerous in the beginning so I’m not in a hurry to drive right away,” says university student Ruba Abdulbaqi, who participated in a customized training program teaching women the basics of driving at Effat University this week.
At the Effat campus, some 250 female students participated in a three-day Driving Skills for Life Program, a global initiative by Ford Motor, which was launched for the first time in Saudi Arabia.
For many, it was their first time to get in the driver’s seat. After completing the round, most said they were excited to learn driving.
However, some fear that traffic is not going to improve by the time women start driving in June. Recent statistics show that more than 9,000 people were killed in car accidents in Saudi Arabia in 2016, mainly due to speeding.
The figure is at its highest since 2007.
Traffic accidents account for 12 percent of total deaths in the Kingdom, according to a report published by a local newspaper quoting data provided by the General Authority for Statistics and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
Like many women Saudi Gazette spoke to, Asma Babtain says Saudi roads are not safe at the moment. “There’s a high risk of accidents,” she says. “I’ll probably wait for a year to see how traffic is going to be.”
Bayan Alnahhas, a senior student at the university, said she enjoyed the experience of sitting in the driver’s seat after completing a round with an instructor. Although she’s never tried it before, she’s willing to drive soon.
Rahaf Wasfi, another student, says her father taught her how to drive in the outskirts of the city and looks forward to driving to work once she graduates this summer.
Many, like Rahaf, were taught by their fathers or siblings informally. “My father taught me once but now I’m ready to go get my own driver’s license,” says Manar Ismail, a sophomore.
Asked about her fears about traffic, she said, “No, we’ll get used to it.”
“I’m used to driving so I’m looking forward to it,” says Rozan Naji, an employee who has a driver’s license from Cairo. “My first trip will probably be a road trip from Jeddah to Madinah since I always had trouble finding someone to take me.”
“With a first-time driver, there’s always a little bit of some uncertainty and fear. It’s important to raise awareness of the issues women would face when they get behind the wheel,” Ford Motor Company’s president of fund and community services, Jim Vella, told Saudi Gazette during a visit here.
Encouraging women to try driving for the first time raises confidence in moving to the next step, he added.
“Women driving in Saudi Arabia is not a simple societal change but it is also a jumpstart to the Kingdom’s economy as a whole where more women will join the workforce, feel more empowered and in control of day-to-day activities,” said Dr. Haifa Jamal Al-Lail, president of Effat University, which prides itself in introducing new specialties to women for the first time in the Kingdom, such as visual production, electrical engineering, and architecture.
“We’re thinking of other ways to push women in the automotive industry as well,” she told Saudi Gazette.
“Statistics show that women are generally safer and more defensive drivers than men. I believe women driving will discipline other drivers on the road,” she said with a smile.
Driving schools are expected to be in effect this month. While detailed plans have not been shared by the Traffic Department on exact dates and requirements of driving schools around the country, several universities have already announced they will host driving schools for women, including King Abdul Aziz University and Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University.
