The Impact of Women’s Driving on Sustainable Development and Road Safety in Saudi Arabia
The main paper was presented by Dr. Najah bint Muqbel Al-Qarawi, commented on by Dr. Nouf Al-Ghamdi and Dr. Aisha Al-Ahmadi, and the debate was moderated by Dr. Reem Al-Furyan. The paper coincided with the announcement – for the first time – of allowing women to drive in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The research was conducted by a team at Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University in cooperation with a specialized team from the General Directorate of Traffic in the Kingdom.
The importance of this research is that it is a national study carried out at the level of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It coincided with an important development event in its history, which is the announcement of allowing women in the Kingdom to drive a car. This gave the researcher a unique opportunity of tracing and documenting the shift between the ban and allowing women to drive, and closely following the consequences of announcing that resolution and the measures taken in preparation for its implementation. This also allowed studying the tangible effects on sustainable development in three dimensions: (economy, environment, and society), traffic safety before and after lifting the ban, and comparing the Kingdom with the other states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The comments that made on this paper focused on the part related to sustainable development, especially the economic aspect. They addressed the potential effects such as increasing demand for cars and then supporting the service sector and associated permanent goods, the most prominent of which are: car sales and spare parts, maintenance, finance, insurance, and fuel.
In addition, some social and environmental impacts were addressed, such as empowering women and facilitating their access to work and education. On the other hand, more pressure would be on roads and parking areas, drivers training schools, and traffic department supplies, as well as increasing fuel consumption, which would negatively affect the environment due to the increase in car emissions.
The contributors went on to say that women’s driving necessarily meant huge social changes in lifestyle in terms of expanding their social presence and role and prepares society to accept more changes.
Positive social outcomes may be a driving factor towards persuading the more conservative sectors with the resolution and reducing some of the criminal threats, such as kidnapping, and violence against children, that may result from some foreign drivers.
The commentators indicated that it is expected that there would be social impacts, such as increasing the independence of women in mobility. It is also expected that there would be an impact on the relationship of men to women, as the resolution would contribute to a qualitative change in the family relationship.
Among the most important recommendations were the following:
- One of the potential economic impacts of women’s driving is increasing the demand for cars. There is no doubt that the growth in demand for cars will increase their imports, which burdens the balance of payments, but it will increase the feasibility of the emergence of the local car industry and will lead to an increase in the number of vehicles to support the services sector and related support goods.
- The resolution will enhance the investment of women in training and education, and thus increases human capital, which will boost the productivity of women and society as a whole.
- Banks are also expected to benefit from increased demand for cars by increasing the volume of financing. The revenues of insurance companies will increase due to the requirements of compulsory insurance.
- Regarding the infrastructure, an increase in the number of cars and an increase in the total distance covered will raise pressure on roads and parking areas. The increase in the number of vehicles will increase the demand for fuel, which will reduce or cancel the effect of canceling fuel subsidies and raising prices, and an increase in fuel consumption will negatively affect the environment unless the fuel and vehicle specifications improve environmentally.
- Likewise, permitting women to drive will increase the empowerment of women, especially those who support themselves or their families, and facilitate their access to work and education. The long-term delivery companies and taxis will be affected by the decline in women’s demand for their services.
- In addition, the resolution to allow women to drive a car should be considered as an enabler, meaning that its effects are paramount. This means a departure from previously suppressed skills and goals. It also means an impact on the value system, including the position of segments of society.