Saudi traffic police reduce punishments for women caught driving

Traffic authorities in Saudi Arabia have reportedly reduced punishments for women caught driving ahead of the lifting of a ban next year.

Saudi publication Okaz cited sources as confirming traffic departments across the kingdom are no longer detaining women if they are caught driving as was the case previously.

Instead they will be fined a minimum of SAR500 ($133.33) and a maximum of SAR900 ($240), according to the publication.

Earlier this week, the Traffic Department in Riyadh announced it had registered a case against a woman seen driving her car outside the Ritz Carlton hotel in a clip uploaded online

A woman also reportedly died in Jeddah when she drove into a cement barrier, leaving her husband with serious injuries.

Authorities have warned that giving driving lessons to women on public roads is still illegal until the ban is lifted in June 2018.

Read: Saudi women to be allowed to drive from age 18

A committee of representatives from the kingdom’s various ministries formed to present recommendations to carry out the decision is said to be considering the recruitment of women within traffic departments to help facilitate the new wave of motorists.

A survey released this week showed 82 per cent of women in the kingdom plan to obtain a driving licence.

Read: Study reveals 82% of Saudi women plan to drive