Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Driving is a complex skill, and new drivers are--unsurprisingly--not so good at it. From everything I've heard, Saudi roads are exceptionally dangerous and Saudi men the world's worst drivers. So I'm wondering who's teaching these intrepid Saudi women how to drive, and thinking that perhaps we could share some of our best tips with them. We have an expert on road safety in Dave Carter. Dave, what's your best advice for people who are just learning? Who else has good advice for women who are driving, today, for the first time in their lives?
From me: practice for quite some time in a nice, safe parking lot where there's not much to hit. Obvious, I know, but you want to get a feel for how that thing works before you achieve ramming speed.
Judith, I imagine, has nostalgic memories of me as an amateur driver. You remember that road trip in California, Judith? The one after which we needed to make an emergency appointment for you with the chiropractor?
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Aug '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Not really general advice, but given their plans...
Ah... don't actually drive in those spiky heels. If you need them as weapons, put them off to the side within easy reach.
And, ah, don't try to videotape while you're driving, unless you have a passenger along to do it for you.
And... um... use bobby pins! Very handy for keeping your hijab in place so it doesn't flop into your eyes while you're behind the wheel.
Edited on Jun 17, 2011 at 8:38amMay '11
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
As someone who has drove in Saudi Arabia, my best advice is to be absolutly aware of the other drivers. Drivers over there are dangerous and unpredictable. I hope these women get a little practice before going out in traffic.
I had people pass me on the right while exiting onto an offramp. They will constantly ignore stop signs at intersections. They sometimes just drive off the road into the desert. Road signs and traffic lights are just a rough guide for them.
May '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Make sure you use a hands-free device if you're going to talk on your cell phone.
Even if you have the legal right-of-way, always consider who will win the collision before proceeding.
If you start to slide on the ice, take your foot off the gas, do not apply the brake, and turn the steering wheel into the slide.
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Mark Wilson:
If you start to slide on the ice, take your foot off the gas, do not apply the brake, and turn the steering wheel into the slide. · Jun 17 at 8:50am
Good advice generally, but I don't imagine this will be a problem in Saudi Arabia.
May '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Some of those Ben Hur wheel blades would help. Also lose the hijab thingie. Restricts your peripheral vision.
Little known fact: The movie Sideways was based on Claire and Judith's California road trip.
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Is women drivers a freedom we really want to export? Maybe in some repects Sharia has a point:
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Tommy De Seno: Is women drivers a freedom we really want to export? Maybe in some repects Sharia has a point: · Jun 17 at 9:11am
Boo! Sexist! I wish there was a dislike button for this comment! ;-)
Another tip I pass on from my experience driving over California's Highway 17 (one of the deadliest stretches of highway in America) over 1,000 times: If you're driving on a curvy road with little or non-existent shoulder space, focus your sight on the lane line that your wheel is tilted toward (rather than on the middle of the lane). This tip only works if the lanes are demarcated with painted lines, of course...
Also, don't trust turn signals. If a turn signal is on, it doesn't necessarily mean that the driver is turning. And if a turn signal isn't on, it doesn't mean that the driver's not turning. Proceed accordingly.
May '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: Not really general advice, but given their plans...
And... um... use bobby pins! Very handy for keeping your hijab in place so it doesn't flop into your eyes while you're behind the wheel. · Jun 17 at 8:36am
Edited on Jun 17 at 08:38 am
And avoid long, flowing scarves, lest they end up like Isadora Duncan.
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Ottoman Umpire
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: Not really general advice, but given their plans...
And... um... use bobby pins! Very handy for keeping your hijab in place so it doesn't flop into your eyes while you're behind the wheel. · Jun 17 at 8:36am
Edited on Jun 17 at 08:38 am
And avoid long, flowing scarves, lest they end up like Isadora Duncan. · Jun 17 at 9:47am
Wow what an awful way to go!
May '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Mark Wilson:
If you start to slide on the ice, take your foot off the gas, do not apply the brake, and turn the steering wheel into the slide. · Jun 17 at 8:50am
Good advice generally, but I don't imagine this will be a problem in Saudi Arabia. · Jun 17 at 8:55am
I jest, I jest.
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Claire, you are exactly right. First, know your vehicle. Second, know your surroundings. Practice on a vacant lot if possible, getting a feel for how the vehicle handles, and “where you are” on the road, etc. Some tips I've picked up along the way:
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
- When going through an intersection, make sure others see you. This particularly important at intersections not controlled by traffic lights. Stops signs and yield signs are more often ignored. Make eye contact with the other drivers if possible.
- Anticipate that even if you've done everything listed above, they still won't see you and will do something bone-headed. Update your options constantly as to what you will do when they don't see you.
- In inclement weather, i.e., fog, sand storms, don't out run your field of vision. In other words, if you can only see 20 yards in front of you, go at a speed that will allow you stop within 20 yards.
- Don't travel in the pack (which admittedly can be a challenge in Saudi). If a close-knit gaggle of vehicles are playing roller derby, let them press on and watch their collision from a distance. There are no checkered flags ahead.
Edited on Jun 17, 2011 at 11:01amRe: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Aug '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Also -- and this is something I still repeat to myself sometimes when I'm feeling nervous behind the wheel:
Remember that every day, many people far stupider than you manage to get where they're going without an accident. If they can do it, so can you.
Translated into Saudi-friendly terms: Saudi women should feel confident that if Saudi men can get where they're going without an accident, then Saudi women can, too.
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
From everything I've heard, Saudi roads are exceptionally dangerous and Saudi men the world's worst drivers.
OK, so maybe Saudi men don't get where they're going without an accident... There goes my advice.
Oct '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Re, Diane Ellis... Driving Highway 17 for any prolonged period will put one on a rather nasty list of statistics. Been there, avoided the list... And I have driven countless miles on mountain roads in the Pacific Northwest...
Oct '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Good Lord, I had no idea so many Saudi men relocated to Massachusetts.
Apr '11
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
From what my husband told me about Saudi drivers, I don't think the women's lack of experience will be noticed much.
Aug '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Possibly, this music video could be instructive:
Saudis in Audis
May '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Another tip I pass on from my experience driving over California's Highway 17 (one of the deadliest stretches of highway in America) over 1,000 times...
The center divider is covered in black streaks from tires and all kinds of other paint colors. Always an adventure.
Aug '10
Re: Driving Tips for Saudi Women
This has produced quite a compendium of good road advice -- we all grow lax in our driving habits. When I trained in DC to drive a limo, I learned to cycle all three mirrors just about constantly, and when turning or changing lanes NEVER rely on only the mirrors -- look over your shoulder. It saved me numerous times.
My strategy in Riyadh was Expect Anything. Abrupt U turns, beginning at the extreme right, directly in front of four lanes of moving traffic. Camels in the bay of ancient Toyota pickups. I hadn't realized Saudi women were being given the opportunity but we always wondered how they would work it out with the full veiling.
My favorite line was from a minor prince I worked for: "Tom,"he said, "do not get in an accident in this country. Whatever happened, it is your fault because if you hadn't come to the Kingdom, it would not have been possible."