ph thinktank needed
Discussion
My wife wrote in to the Arab news:
http://arabnews.com/news/464212
copied here:
This is with reference to the report “Crackdown on independent drivers worries working women” (Sept .3). I agree that a solution needs to be reached whereby independent drivers can still legally transport women around in the Kingdom. I would in fact go one step further and suggest that perhaps it’s time to think of a more long term, logical solution to the transportation problems endured by women in the Kingdom. Firstly, by allowing women to drive and secondly, by providing an effective and reliable mode of public transportation for them. Due to a lack of these prerequisites women from all walks of life living in the Kingdom face a far-reaching dilemma!
This applies to both Saudi and expat women alike and includes the workingwomen, students, and mothers picking and dropping their children to and from school; women who have doctors’ appointments; women who need to shop for their groceries or those wishing to meet their friends and families. Not to mention those who find themselves requiring urgent medical attention and needing to get to the hospital in an emergency! The list is endless.
The article also brings to light that not every household has its own driver under its sponsorship and that in some household multiple members need to get to different destinations at the same time. This is a common problem leaving the family members in a difficult position. A reasonable solution to this would be by allowing women to drive and by providing effective public transportation for them.
I also urge the government to provide women with decent and accessible means of public transport like public women-only buses
They watered down her letter significantly, but how can we get the ladies on the road, any ideas?
http://arabnews.com/news/464212
copied here:
This is with reference to the report “Crackdown on independent drivers worries working women” (Sept .3). I agree that a solution needs to be reached whereby independent drivers can still legally transport women around in the Kingdom. I would in fact go one step further and suggest that perhaps it’s time to think of a more long term, logical solution to the transportation problems endured by women in the Kingdom. Firstly, by allowing women to drive and secondly, by providing an effective and reliable mode of public transportation for them. Due to a lack of these prerequisites women from all walks of life living in the Kingdom face a far-reaching dilemma!
This applies to both Saudi and expat women alike and includes the workingwomen, students, and mothers picking and dropping their children to and from school; women who have doctors’ appointments; women who need to shop for their groceries or those wishing to meet their friends and families. Not to mention those who find themselves requiring urgent medical attention and needing to get to the hospital in an emergency! The list is endless.
The article also brings to light that not every household has its own driver under its sponsorship and that in some household multiple members need to get to different destinations at the same time. This is a common problem leaving the family members in a difficult position. A reasonable solution to this would be by allowing women to drive and by providing effective public transportation for them.
I also urge the government to provide women with decent and accessible means of public transport like public women-only buses
They watered down her letter significantly, but how can we get the ladies on the road, any ideas?
Asterix said:
Jeez - some of the comments to the article are bats
t.
I too don't have any thing constructive to say as the laws in KSA are driven by the worst of the worst. You can't debate with brainwashing.
I read them and had to go and have a brew, my blood was boiling.t.I too don't have any thing constructive to say as the laws in KSA are driven by the worst of the worst. You can't debate with brainwashing.
Brainwashed isn't quite able to describe some of the people replying.
Nothing to add, in fact I can't. As much as I would love KSA to relax the laws on women driving, I can't see it ever happening
Gaffer said:
I read them and had to go and have a brew, my blood was boiling.
Brainwashed isn't quite able to describe some of the people replying.
Nothing to add, in fact I can't. As much as I would love KSA to relax the laws on women driving, I can't see it ever happening
I honestly think they will. They at least appear to be making efforts to drag themselves and the populace into the 21st century.Brainwashed isn't quite able to describe some of the people replying.
Nothing to add, in fact I can't. As much as I would love KSA to relax the laws on women driving, I can't see it ever happening
I found reading the comments on the original article very tiring.
The real consequence of not letting women drive is that women are either trapped in the house (to slowly go mad) or forced to use a 'taxi', or arrange for a driver (official or unofficial), and its the hubby/bloke left with the problem when it all goes wrong.
The taxi's here smell like sh*t and the men driving them also smell like sh*t. I think they also have sex with themselves, from the smell, most probably in the back of the taxi they drive. Let's remember that as a "lowly" labourer you can't bring your spouse with you into the country. These blokes spend years here without a sexual release. Apart from that the typical taxi driver's driving skills are more like that of a 5 year old playing bumper cars.
An unofficial driver is pretty much the same, except you hand over the car as well as your family's safety to a person you know little about.
An official driver is extremely expensive, there's an upfront cost of around 10k SAR/$3k USD to get a visa for him and bring him into the country. After a 3 - 5 month wait for him to arrive, you then pay him 2k SAR a month, plus accomodation, plus food. Then you find out he can't drive, doesn't know where anything is, can't speak English, smells, wants a pay rise, wants better food, and are as sexually deprived as the rest of the bunch. And what do you do when he crashes your car?
I had a driver slam my Lumina CR8 (HSV) into the back of another car, and another write off a rented Toyota Yaris. I also had an unofficial drunk driver, and an unofficial high as a kite driver. I once tested a driver's driving skills and he showed me how to reverse my Suburban into my E38 BMW, the test lasted all of 3 seconds. The one that damaged my CR8 also ran up 2k SAR worth of speeding fines which I discovered after I had fired him.
The path to follow might be:
1. Better traffic police enforcement on the very bad driving currently in play
2. Better driving tests - by all accounts the current driving test consists of driving a car 100 yards down the street. Go, Stop, Congratulaions!
3. Driving schools & test centres dedicated to women (assuming they don't change anything on the segregation of sexes front)
4. Better road markings - once you're off the main roads it's a free for all, i.e. right of way is for the chap that sticks his front bumper out first.
5. Better regulation of taxis - Dubai seemed to have cleaner taxis & more normal drivers
In the meantime the wife & I will soldier on.
They changed the working week in a flash so there's hope yet.....
The real consequence of not letting women drive is that women are either trapped in the house (to slowly go mad) or forced to use a 'taxi', or arrange for a driver (official or unofficial), and its the hubby/bloke left with the problem when it all goes wrong.
The taxi's here smell like sh*t and the men driving them also smell like sh*t. I think they also have sex with themselves, from the smell, most probably in the back of the taxi they drive. Let's remember that as a "lowly" labourer you can't bring your spouse with you into the country. These blokes spend years here without a sexual release. Apart from that the typical taxi driver's driving skills are more like that of a 5 year old playing bumper cars.
An unofficial driver is pretty much the same, except you hand over the car as well as your family's safety to a person you know little about.
An official driver is extremely expensive, there's an upfront cost of around 10k SAR/$3k USD to get a visa for him and bring him into the country. After a 3 - 5 month wait for him to arrive, you then pay him 2k SAR a month, plus accomodation, plus food. Then you find out he can't drive, doesn't know where anything is, can't speak English, smells, wants a pay rise, wants better food, and are as sexually deprived as the rest of the bunch. And what do you do when he crashes your car?
I had a driver slam my Lumina CR8 (HSV) into the back of another car, and another write off a rented Toyota Yaris. I also had an unofficial drunk driver, and an unofficial high as a kite driver. I once tested a driver's driving skills and he showed me how to reverse my Suburban into my E38 BMW, the test lasted all of 3 seconds. The one that damaged my CR8 also ran up 2k SAR worth of speeding fines which I discovered after I had fired him.
The path to follow might be:
1. Better traffic police enforcement on the very bad driving currently in play
2. Better driving tests - by all accounts the current driving test consists of driving a car 100 yards down the street. Go, Stop, Congratulaions!
3. Driving schools & test centres dedicated to women (assuming they don't change anything on the segregation of sexes front)
4. Better road markings - once you're off the main roads it's a free for all, i.e. right of way is for the chap that sticks his front bumper out first.
5. Better regulation of taxis - Dubai seemed to have cleaner taxis & more normal drivers
In the meantime the wife & I will soldier on.
They changed the working week in a flash so there's hope yet.....
Gassing Station | Middle East | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff