Saudi Gazette To ensure safety and protection, Saudi families have discovered a new way to safeguard their children and others on road, while traveling in cars with drivers. When a new driver arrives from abroad, it takes a couple of weeks for him to become accustomed to driving in the Kingdom, become familiar with his surroundings, and comfortably adjust to the car in his possession. To warn other motorists that the driver is still new and that extra caution should be taken, some families have stuck a large sign on the rear of their car that says: Driver is under training. The sign alerts other motorists that the driver of the car is new and hence other drivers should take care while driving around them. Some view this trend as a positive movement and as an indicator of increased awareness of road safety. Fahd Bukhari hung the “Driver is Under Training” sign on the window of his car, he said, “Although our driver has many years of experience driving in another Gulf country, is confident and skillful, yet he still needs time to orient himself to driving in our city. We must take into consideration that the driver was working in a different environment previously. “While our driver gradually learned the directions to our children's schools and our most common trips, I worried that he may become confused which could lead to the harm of my own family members and others on the road so I placed the sign on my car to notify other motorists.” The director of traffic police in Madinah, Col. Omar Bin Hammad Al-Nazawi, disagrees and he thinks that this ‘innovated' sign will be misused as an excuse and exempt the driver from accountability and possible fines if he commits traffic violations. He further said that since the driver has been brought from his home country with a visa under the title of a driver, he should be trained and confident enough to drive before he travels to the Kingdom. Saudi citizen, Ghanem Al-Habishi, shares the same opinion with Al-Nazawi, and he said, “Many drivers who come to this country for work do not know anything about driving and they learn from their sponsors, putting the sponsor's family at risk. I had sent a visa to an affirmed Asian driver, but after he joined us I realized that he could not drive well and eventually discovered that he did not own a car in his country, and that he had never been behind the steering wheel in his life! Within less than one month, I terminated his employment and requested a replacement. “Due to poverty and harsh living conditions, some of these men are willing to take the risk of coming to the Kingdom to seek a stable income to support their families, without first receiving the necessary training and qualifications.” “Placing a warning sign on your car is not the correct or even logical way to promote road safety and prevent traffic accidents. The sponsor family as well as the agencies that are responsible for bringing drivers into the country should be much stricter and should first confirm that the driver is capable of driving in cities. Before allowing anyone to take your car on the road, you should make sure that he understands traffic rules and road signs and that he is a good driver,” said Al-Nazawi. __
