Even though women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia, that doesn’t mean traffic problems there aren’t their fault.
I wonder if those responsible for organizing traffic awareness campaigns and programs aimed at educating motorists and pedestrians have realized the role of women in the chaos characteristic of our streets and the accidents which occur there all too often.
It is of course true that women do not drive in the Kingdom but the great majority of drivers here take their orders from women. And it is also true that once a woman is seated in her car, she begins issuing contradictory orders which she demands the driver carry out. Just think of the sheer number of foreign drivers in the streets of Riyadh — no exact numbers are available — from early morning until late at night and you can begin to see the magnitude of the problem.
By “foreign drivers” the writer means foreign workers who’ve taken on a chauffering job for women in the kingdom.
For those who think this is gratuitous Saudi-slamming, it’s not. Consider the not-too-antiquated American stereotypes of the “backseat driver” (usually the mother-in-law) or nagging-wife-in-the-passenger seat, and we don’t have that much room to boast.
Still, it’s sort of a fascinating glimpse into Saudi society (or at least one guy’s perspective on it).
(via Daimnation)