European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday december 10, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a a Page 3crisis in tha Naif saudi Drivers find it easier to just abandon damaged or wrecked autos. One Book said that by 1978,80,000 wrecked cars had been abandoned in the a amps Randy Pruitt streets of Jeddah in by . Kominicki Middle East Bureau Eastern saudi Arabia driving in this desert kingdom offers a crash course in saudi culture. To get behind the wheel is to glimpse the fatalism of islam the clash of tribal and. Modern Law and the country a medieval Lack of women a rights. A a a a. A a in the desert american Drivers need Only contend with spartan roads herds of camels and the High Speed antics of bedouin sheep ranchers. In Urban areas however thousands of . Support troops face traffic that puts nerves on Edge and defensive driving skills to the test. As one . Soldier put it a a in a like to see them create a cd a a combat Drivers badge a to give to those few soldiers who make it through the desert shield without an Accident.�?�. In Riyadh and other Large saudi cities for example right of Way is commonly reserved for any Driver willing to take it. Red lights Are often ignored and motorists routinely turn or fade from one Lane to another without signalling. Many drive with Only parking lights at night others a rely solely on Street lights to illuminate their Way. Quot motorists Quot making a left turn from the left Lane Are expected to give Way to a Driver making the same left turn or even a a turn from the right Lane. \ and then there is the honking. Unlike Central Europe where the Horn is saved to signal imminent danger saudis beep with relish As they Speed through intersections race by the rows of double parked cars and lurch Forward at traffic lights. Adding to the cacophony Are the sounds of squealing rubber the shouts of endangered pedestrians and the rumbling Din of four wheel drive it All saudi Drivers remain remarkably Good natured. Cut off another Driver in traffic and you Are Likely to receive a knowing smile rather than a shaking fist. Even motorists involved in accidents a common sight in the kingdom remain almost perversely Calm during the wait for police or medical attention. This May be explained in part by the saudis firm belief that patience is a virtue a conviction rooted in the Koran and Best a explained in the expression a Bukara Minsha Alahn t tomorrow god willing. Such stoicism aside saudi Drivers appear obsessed with Speed and routinely race Well above posted limits despite the possibility of stiff fines and a warning chime that goes off in All autos at 120 Kilometres per hour. A a americans negotiating such motorized madness can take Solace in one fact a it used to be much worse. In the Early 1970s, when saudi Oij revenues jumped from Mere millions to billions of dollars a year new Drivers proliferated like desert fleas. Suddenly almost every saudi could afford a car. In addition government programs put bedouins behind the wheels of taxis and shepherds into pickups. In the Rush to put every saudi in a Driy Eros scat millions of american and japanese cars were imported and sold at subsidized prices. The classic example described in Sandra Mackey a 1987 Book a the saudis a is of the Toyota Dealership in Riyadh that built a Corral behind the sales area allowing customers to arrive by Camel and depart by four wheel drive it with no requirement that Drivers be licensed and with few traffic Laws let alone traffic lights saudi arabians streets quickly became churning strips of destruction and Al too often death. In 1976 alone there were 17,000 cases in which a blood Money was paid to the relatives of Auto Accident victims according to saudi government statistics. In the late 1970s, Riyadh a largest Hospital was 97 percent full with traffic Accident victims yet the City sported traffic lights at Only four intersections. As late As 1982, King Fadh reportedly refused to leave his Palace without including a wrecker in the Royal motorcade. Mackey a Book reports that by 1978, 80,000 wrecked cars had been abandoned in the streets of the West coast City of Jeddah even today the saudi desert sports the hulks of autos that crashed or broke Down and were simply abandoned. = adding to the confusion in the 1970s was a Lack of formal traffic Laws. Many rules of the Road were based on tradition rather than written statute with the saudi Driver doing much of the interpretation. Saudi Arabia has made impressive strides since then. Thousands of Miles of new roads have helped funnel traffic into some semblance of order and traffic lights Are now almost As numerous As in Western cities. The number of cars in the kingdom has dropped from a Peak of about 4.2 million in 1986 to less than half that number in 1988, according to government statistics. The number of new cars entering the country has also ebbed As the saudi currency tied to the . Dollar declined against the japanese yen and the Dutsch Mark. Saudis Are now required to attend driving school albeit Only for a week before receiving a five year permit. There Are also formalized driving Laws and a computer system detailing a Drivers previous record. A a those gains aside Dri Vitigo in saudi Arabia remains a dangerous Endeavor at Best. In 1988, there were some 32,500 accidents in. The country More Thani too or 1�?T&Quot Sonie military Drivers to r. Depart the kingdom without a scrap of a a in be received two awards for Accident free driving in my time in the army Quot one k Soldier said. Quot somehow i just done to think in a going to get a third one Down now saudi women stuck in Back seat saudi women Are prohibited from driving in their country by a 1957 Royal decree that was designed to Placa tithe concerns of religious leaders. Saudi government officials Are Quick to concede that it the Koran from which the kingdoms Laws Stem has no specific prohibition against women driving. However they note the ban is important from a practical stand Point. V a a How could a saudi woman Settle a traffic Accident they argue if she is forbidden by religious Law to speak to any Man other than her husband in the same vein a woman would have a difficult time changing a Flat tire while wearing the a Sabaya a the Black Robe that is required dress in Public. The driving ban received Little Public outcry until last month when about 50 saudi women packed into 15 cars and drove the streets of Riyadh to protest the prohibition the women were publicly rebuked six were suspended from their teaching jobs and the government warned that it would impose severe punishment for any women caught driving. Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz the saudi Interior min ister is said to support the idea of giving women the right to drive but because of his position he had to denounce the women involved in last months protest government sources said. Quot demonstrations Are unheard of in this country Quot a saudi government source said. Quot to allow anyone to get what they Waht through protest was doomed from the Start a a a a a r still some believe that the Royal family which had Advance notice of the driving demonstration allowed it to take place to gauge the reaction of religious authorities. R v a v \ when asked Why driving by women was such a threatening Issue a Muslim religious teacher of literature and history a who said he would speak More frankly if his name were not used a explained a driving could Lead to temptations that would Hurt the Sanctity of women Quot when asked by the new York times to detail How this would occur the professor looked uncomfortable and said a boys already drive. If girls drive too things might r what kind of things he was asked Quot things that harm the Sanctity of women a a he replied looking More pained. When asked if he was refer. Ring to sexual relations the professor looked stricken. Nodded his head a yes a he said a things like despite fears that saudi arabians fledgling women a rights movement May have been permanently damaged by the demonstration some believe it is Only a matter of time before women Are allowed in the Drivers seat. A but it must be a gradual thing a one saudi Man stressed. A it must Start As simply As one woman driving her sick child to the Hospital when no other transportation is easily available. In time it will 15e the v9rdict is still out on whether the Large number of foreign women now driving in the kingdom will help Speed that acceptance. American military women Are allowed to drive while in uniform and on official desert shield business several thousand kuwaiti women some of whom drive Are currently living in saudi Arabi and there is a steady influx of women Drivers from nearby Bahrain. T whenever the change occurs most saudis believe it will Likely Start in the Eastern province closest to Bahrain and Kuwait and we away from the religious Funda mentalism that dominates Riyadh. Until then driving is one Issue in which saudi women will continue to take the Back seat. Jul Kominicki a a a arc of i a Quot
