Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — With less than two months to go for women to start driving in Saudi Arabia, driving school trainers have expressed confidence in female drivers. Women will be allowed to start driving in the Kingdom from June 24, the General Department of Traffic Director General Mohammed Al-Bassami said on Tuesday. “All the requirements for women in the Kingdom to start driving have been finalized,” Bassami was quoted as saying in a statement. Women 18 years of age and older will be allowed to apply for a driver’s license, Bassami said. Driving schools for women have been set up in five cities in the Kingdom, and teachers will include Saudi women who obtained their licenses abroad. Al-Madina newspaper correspondent visited a driving school at the all-women Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University in Riyadh and found that the school was well-equipped and well-organized to provide good training for women. At the university’s driving school, women trainees attend eight hours of theory classes on traffic signals and signs, car parts and safe driving as well as speed limits on highways and roads inside the city. These topics are discussed four days for two hours each day. After attending classes, trainees have to pass a test with 32 questions. They can pass if they give correct answers for 26 questions. Later they sit in a simulator to have a virtual driving experience in various circumstances and crossing different types of roads. After spending two hours in the simulator, trainees are given live driving training. This practical training is given for 20 hours in a period of 10 days. Those who pass all these tests have to wait until June 23 to receive their driving licenses. Prospective applicants must register with the school after paying a fee of SR2,400 through ATM. They should submit the original Civil ID and two recent photographs and give the correct address. Women trainees said they joined the school for several reasons. They wanted to get rid of a male driver, save time, money and energy, and avoid exploitation by taxi drivers. “I was one of the first women to register with the driving school at Princess Nora University,” Munira Al-Oqala told Al-Madina newspaper. Rawan Saad, an IT student, said she joined the school on the advice and encouragement of her father. “Now I can drive my car to the university and after graduation I can go to work without depending on drivers.” Dr. Musaed Al-Rubaish, a legal consultant and an expert on traffic issues, said women have nothing to fear while driving because they will receive all legal support which their male counterparts get. Those who have the necessary driving skills should attend at least six hours of training while those who do not know driving should get a maximum of 30 hours of training. Women with foreign driving licenses will be able to apply for a local one through a separate process, which will also assess their driving skills.