Manama: Traffic authorities and safety campaigners in Saudi Arabia have warned against responding to ads offering driving courses to women.
"Nobody has been licenced to train women on driving in public places, and women should be weary of ads offering courses and thus avoid becoming victims of abuses," said Abdul Rahman Al Maajal, the head of the Saudi Society for Traffic Safety.
Several advertisements have emerged offering driving courses for SR40 an hour or a package of 30 hours for SR1,200. The instructor provides the car for the training, the ads said.
King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud on September 26 issued a royal order to lift the ban on women driving.
A tripartite ministerial committee was set up to issue recommendations within 30 days and proper arrangements and logistics would be implemented before the ban is officially lifted on June 26.
The order was warmly welcomed and several women posted pictures of themselves taking the wheel in public places. One man tweeted a picture showing him giving his wife driving lessons at a car park.
The spokesperson for the traffic general directorate, however, has warned that regulations prohibit the learning of driving on roads and asked women to be patient until regulations on the matter are issued.
"No woman will be allowed to drive before the formal lifting of the ban in June and the law will be applied to all those who post ads on social media offering driving lessons," the spokesperson said.
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