A Saudi woman driving a pickup truck caused a road accident here Wednesday that injured three Egyptians in a car, police said. Women are banned from driving in Saudi Arabia. The woman drove her truck straight into a main road from a by-lane near Abu Salim Distract east of Al- Qowaieyyah, almost hitting the car, causing it to sharply veer away and overturn, police said. A Red Crescent ambulance moved the injured to Al-Qowaieyyah General Hospital. The woman, in her 40s, was unhurt. Al- Qowaieyyah is along the Makkah-Riyadh Highway, 170 km west of the capital city. It is not uncommon for women to get behind the wheel, especially in the rural areas. ln October in the Eastern Province, a Saudi woman in her 20s drove a stolen car into a ditch. In July, a Saudi woman driving a Nissan died in a fatal accident on a main highway in Riyadh. Though women are not allowed to drive in the Kingdom, they may own cars. One Saudi woman who had a car registered in her name has filed a complaint with the Madina Emir's Office against the Police and the Traffic Administration (Police) for an alleged illegal transaction that saw the ownership of the car transferred to her ex-husband. Khaled Al-Ahmadi, the woman's brother and legal representative, said the ex-husband had “stolen the car and traveled with it to Ola on Nov. 19.” He said he had reported the matter to the police who then issued a bulletin for the car. But the ex-husband managed to conclude documentation for sale of the car nine days after the police bulletin was issued. “He sold it despite not having any document to prove he owned it,” Al-Ahmadi said. “This suggests that Ola Traffic police has been negligent in following the vehicle-sale regulation on verifying ownership.” Qouba Police was also implicated in the complaint for having freed the ex-husband after he allegedly proved he owned the car. Madina Region Traffic Director Brigadier General Siraj Kamal said that if the charges prove to be true, the car dealership that concluded the deal would be held liable – not the Traffic Administration, Madina Region Police spokesman Col. Mehsin Al-Raddadi insisted that the ex-husband had proved ownership of the car. The Shariah court will hear the case.
