Some 125,000 women in four cities have applied for their driver’s license in Saudi Arabia, revealed Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki on Sunday.
The applicants have no prior driving experience except for those who have a foreign driver’s license, he explained during a press conference in Riyadh.
“We were therefore keen to ensure that they sit for the necessary training,” he said, with each applicant going through over 30 hours of driving lessons to obtain their license.
Moreover, Turki stressed that the traffic law will be applied to both men and women equally.
He also revealed that efforts are underway to establish six driving schools in five cities, while 40 female traffic accident inspectors have started carrying out their duties.
The spokesman highlighted the recent measures that were taken ahead of the end of the driving ban against women, such as the adoption of the sexual harassment law.
“We still have much to achieve regarding allowing women to drive and what has been accomplished so far are important steps in this effort,” he stressed.
Furthermore, he stated that an assessment is being carried out at the driving schools and that 22 centers have been set up for women to trade their foreign driver’s licenses with local ones.
He voiced confidence that all concerned sides will respect the traffic laws and regulations, adding that the weight of a driving fine reflects the severity of the infraction.
General Director of the Traffic Directorate Mohammed al-Bassam stated that driving schools are operating according to international standards and plans have been prepared to develop them further.
Some traffic policies had been developed in the past four months in order to lower deaths caused by traffic accidents and improve infrastructure, he revealed.
Statistics from the past nine months showed a 20.93 percent drop in traffic accidents and 11.10 percent drop in injuries and 18.69 percent drop in deaths, he continued.
Not all women who applied for a driver’s license have passed the training, Bassami also remarked.
“So far, no traffic accident related to the end of the women driving ban has been registered in the past 24 hours,” he said, adding that there are no obstacles standing in the way of women from driving any type of vehicle.
