wide campaign for safe driving, and particularly defensive driving, will be launched early next year targeting all high school students. The drive is jointly organized by Saudi Aramco and the Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Science and Technology Center (Scitech), and supported by all government ministries, particularly the Traffic Department, and private organizations. Preparation for the massive campaign is now underway. “Aramco and Scitech are making this campaign nationwide after the success of an initial drive in the Eastern Province, which involved 800 high school students in Al-Khobar and Dammam,” said Dr. Faleh A. Al-Sulaiman, Director General of Scitech and Vice Rector for Technology at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). He said the main objective of the drive, which specifically targets high school students, is to impress upon and remind young Saudis of the dangers of irresponsible driving. “The majority of people involved in car accidents are teenagers who, because of their perceptions about social status and access to cars, drive around cities and highways without regard to their safety and that of others,” he said. Sulaiman added that most young drivers lack a sense of responsibility towards themselves, others and property, which often leads to traffic accidents. Many young people also participate in unofficial car races on public roads during weekends just for leisure. “The result of the recent campaign that targeted 800 high school students in Al-Khobar and Dammam, which brought positive responses, shows that we can duplicate the drive in other cities in the Kingdom,” Sulaiman said. With the launching of the drive throughout the Kingdom, over 150,000 high school students in the Eastern Province alone will be covered. The drive will also involve similar numbers of high school students in Riyadh and Jeddah, according to Sulaiman. He said there will be numerous activities, such as lectures, seminars, driving demonstrations and exhibits, including a display of statistics on road fatalities. The Ministry of Education and the Red Crescent Society will also hold lectures and demonstrations on safe driving and the consequences of reckless driving. “Parents of high school students will also be invited to sit in with their children in the seminars and lectures, because it is important for them to realize that allowing their teenaged sons to drive, buying them cars before they are the legal age, is just wrong.” The venue of the campaign in the Eastern Province will be at the Scitech heaquarters in Al-Khobar. Other venues in Riyadh and Jeddah are still being decided. __
