In many articles appearing in our newspapers and magazines, people blame the absence of traffic laws for the mess we see on our roads and streets. Every once in a while, we see new traffic laws being passed and implemented for a short period and then forgotten. Driving schools, however, are equally as important as general traffic laws. There are many driving schools in major cities and the Interior Ministry has given them permission to train drivers how to drive before being issued licenses.
These schools unfortunately do not teach new drivers the laws and the rights of pedestrians before they teach them how to drive. The main purpose of establishing these schools is to prevent mistakes that have occurred in the past from happening again. No one will deny that these schools have taught many drivers and granted driving licenses to hundreds of thousands of drivers just as the general education department has given certificates to large numbers of graduates who were in fact not really prepared to do anything.
In many developed countries, drivers take intensive courses in understanding street signs before they are taught how to drive. Here, there are no clear traffic laws for drivers to follow. The main point is how the drivers, especially non-Saudis, can get licenses and so drive legally in the country.
We do not have translations of signs for non-Arabic speakers. Why do we not use the international signs and symbols? In any case, the student drivers are forced to repeat the test several times and of course the schools take fees from them for each course. We are asking here what the system being implemented by these schools is and how should they deal with drivers both Saudi and non-Saudi.
We wonder what is really happening in the schools and what quality of training is being given. When we encounter drivers who graduated from these schools on our roads and streets, we know that there is a serious problem with the schools. We believe the Interior Ministry should monitor these schools and insist that they follow set procedures. We would like to see a new traffic system from the one we are familiar with.
