High school students in the Eastern Province are learning the skills of defensive driving even before they are issued driving licenses. This has been made possible by the fielding of a Driving Simulation Truck to various secondary schools within the Greater Dammam Area. The driving simulation truck, which is owned by Saudi Aramco, was launched on March 14 by Prince Jalawi Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Musa‘ad Al-Saud, Deputy Emir of the Eastern Province, during the observance of the GCC Traffic Week campaign. The truck is Saudi Aramco's contribution to promoting a safe driving culture in the Kingdom. The truck is now visiting schools in the region and conducting educational tours in Dammam, Al-Khobar, and Dhahran. It will eventually ‘travel' to Qatif, Ras Tanura, Jubail and Al-Hasa. “The truck is part of an effort to increase traffic safety awareness and make the Kingdom's roads safer by giving drivers – and soon-to-be-drivers – the chance to test their defensive-driving skills,” said Abdulaziz F. Al-Khayyal, senior vice president of Industrial Relations and a member of the Eastern Province Higher Council for Traffic Safety, during the launching of the truck. Students taking part in the test of driving skills complete three stages in the simulation exercise. First, they must answer 12 questions about defensive driving skills and traffic regulations, which include pedestrian safety and driving in different weather conditions; second, they spend five minutes in the driving simulator, with the supervision and guidance of an instructor; and finally, they get the results of their evaluation with the correct answers to the questions. After the driving simulation, students can review their performance and learn where they made mistakes.
