Saudi female accident inspectors prepare for women driving

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia´s first batch of women car accident inspectors are training to respond to incidents involving female drivers, who will be allowed to drive in the kingdom starting on Sunday when a decades-old ban ends.

Forty women hired by private insurance company Najm attended a celebration on Thursday in the capital Riyadh. All of them wore black abayas, the traditional loose-fitting robes, and most covered their faces with niqab as they lined up to receive symbolic diplomas.

Trainee Tahani al-Ameeri, 35, said she was excited to start working as an inspector in the eastern city of Kohbar. “There is fear at first,” she said of women driving, “but little by little the situation will improve, and God willing this will be a good thing for women.”

“The female inspectors will be called to the scene of the accident when one of those involved is insured, not those involving injuries, and when at least one party is a woman”, said Maha al-Shneifi, Najm´s communication director. They have yet to finish their training, however, and it is unclear how many female inspectors will be hired in coming years. It will depend on demand, said Shneifi.