Over 120,000 Saudi women apply for driving licenses, says interior ministry

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior has received more than 120,000 applications for driving licenses from women, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

“Now we have more than 120,000 women who applied for driving licences and we are working on finishing the procedures,” Major General Mansour Al Turki, the official spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said in a statement issued by the Center for International Communication.

Demand for obtaining driving licences is very high and an increase in the number of women driving vehicles is expected soon, he added.

However, Al Turki said that most of the women, who have applied for driving licences do not have prior or sufficient driving experience, have started taking driving lessons at the authorized driving schools.

According to the ministry, women, who carry foreign driving licences, are able to exchange them directly for a Saudi licence at 22 centers set up in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, women with no experience need to undergo at least 30 hours of practical training at a driving school, while those who are able to drive, but don’t currently hold a driving licence from abroad that they can exchange for a local one, will have to undergo six hours of practical driving instruction.

The ministry stated that the were no restrictions on women driving in the Kingdom as long as they carry a valid Saudi licence that is suitable to the type of vehicle driven.

Advanced biometric technology will be used to identify the authenticity of driving licences by traffic police, it added.

Separately, the ministry revealed it has trained 40 Saudi women for traffic accident investigation and management who are set to start working within a few weeks.

On Saturday midnight, the Kingdom's new female drivers took to the streets as the ban on women driving ended officially.