Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — A workshop on ‘safe driving' was organized by Dar Al-Hekma University and hosted by Alaa Kayal, to spread awareness about safe driving initiatives, building women’s road confidence, automotive knowledge, and traffic skills to achieve safety while driving among female students.

The lecture was presided by Alaa Kayal, auto expert, and presenter of “Car Mix” program on Mix FM.

This initiative comes in recognition of the importance of raising awareness of full compliance with traffic regulations and rules to achieve road safety for female road users after allowing Saudi women to drive starting June. Several automotive companies joined together in the drive to give information about road & traffic to future women drivers.

The workshop allowed female students to ask any questions that they might have had about Saudi traffic rules and regulations. To a surprising degree, many of the women wanted to learn more about different types of cars models available on the market, the importance of car insurance, legal traffic issues and the benefits of driving manual Vs. automatic.

Kayal spoke about the importance of safe driving on roads to ensure the safety of people from traffic accidents that usually cause disability or death, stressing the importance of female students to ensure safety requirements such as tires and effectiveness of brakes, the danger of using mobile while driving and how to maintain the car.

As he lectured the participating students about the proper driving manner, Kayal said: “It is an opportunity for all of us to think about how we behave on the roads and how we can improve our safety. Sadly, we have seen an increase in deaths on our roads here in Saudi Arabia. But if we have learned anything from the past, it’s that all of us can make real changes to improve safety.”

He answered students' questions on the topics related to road safety measures, raise awareness of driving, and their questions about some irregularities that occur almost daily in roads and monitored by traffic men, indicating that following the traffic regulations and instructions while driving the vehicle reflects the culture of society and respect for the system.

Dr. Suhair Hasan AlQurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma University, commented: “We are one of the first to publish a driving guide and support younger women on their journey because it is important that we emphasize on safety and training.

“Today’s lecture comes within many initiatives to raise awareness about road and traffic issues. I think women should get background knowledge on how they can acquire a driving license, insurance plans, road and traffic safety and how to deal in case of emergency. This also comes as part of the awareness steps towards empowering women and giving them the skills they need and the confidence to embark on their journey.”

The lecture was supported and sponsored by NCB, Mercedes-Benz, Wafy, Paris Gallery, Versace Collection, Pirelli and Mix FM Radio.