The Driving School exit no one has ever used

I can’t have a blog about Saudi without mentioning the poor driving skills of its residents. I feel like I am going to die whenever I ride in a car. The people here simply DO NOT know how to drive.

A couple years ago I was riding around in a van in Shenzhen, China. We went through several busy four-way intersections that had no stop signs, nothing to regulate traffic. I asked the driver, “How do you know whose turn it is to go?” He answered, “Whoever is bravest.”

In Saudi, it is not about bravery, but rather stupidity.

-They straddle two lanes, and I wonder if they think the proper way to drive is to have the painted line in the middle of the car.
-No one uses a turn signal. They like to surprise you with their next move.
-They drive on the shoulder of the highway… IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!
-They back up… ON THE HIGHWAY!
-They come to a complete stop… ON THE HIGHWAY!
-They will change lanes right into your car. It becomes our responsibility to honk to tell them this spot in the lane is occupied.

In the Al-Khobar/Dammam region, there’s an exit on the highway marked Driving School. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never seen a single car go down that path. I don’t think it takes much to get your driver’s license here.

Cars speed in excess of 180 kph on the highway, coming up right behind you with flashing lights. It is up to you to get out of the way! The posted speed limit is 120 kph. The most annoying thing is, the rental car we have sets off an alarm once you go above 120 kph. Ding, ding, ding. And it won’t stop dinging. We made a trip down to Riyadh two days ago, which is about 400 km away. We endured the almost three hour trip with this dinging in our ears. Both of us just about had a meltdown.

I’ve seen many a father driving with a child in his lap. Children don’t sit in car seats—they ride in the front seat, hanging out the open windows, or sitting on a parent’s lap. Or, they stand backwards in the backseat, facing the rear window, staring at us in the cars behind. This is actually not what really bothers me, after all, I grew up during the time before seat belts were compulsory. I know all about rolling around in a station wagon trunk and sitting on the front armrest next to my dad. But here, with 10 lane streets, at least 30 cars zooming through the intersection after the light turns red, cars driving on the on-ramp shoulder to pass, frequent emergency braking—it just somehow seems crazy not to use some kind of safety restraint.

They line up burned out, crumpled, wrecked cars on the side of the highway from Khobar to Riyadh, as reminders of what can happen when driving recklessly. Somehow, I don’t think these reminders are very effective.

These drivers are just oblivious. It creates more chaos and more traffic with everyone’s “me first” attitude than to actually just slow down and abide by normal traffic rules.