KUWAIT: Kuwait will soon establish driving learning academies that will apply stricter rules for people seeking driver’s licenses, Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah said on Tuesday, adding that the academies should produce highly-qualified drivers.
Speaking at the National Forum for Transport and Smart Services, the minister said the implementation of the new traffic law early last year has improved driving conditions.
He said that expat motorists committing serious traffic offenses will be sent to authorities for deportation.
The minister also called on Kuwaiti citizens to work as drivers for Careem and Uber services, saying that some of the taxi drivers can’t speak Arabic and English and are aware of Kuwaiti roads.
Director General of the Traffic Department Brigadier Omar Al-Sarri said the department has decided to establish four academies for driving learning and training to make future drivers more qualified.
He said driver’s licenses seekers must undergo a 20-hour program if they were in Kuwait and as many as 40 hours for people coming from abroad.
The deputy director of the traffic department Brigadier Khaled Al-Adwani said a tender will be issued this month for the establishment of the academies.
He said that all traffic department services will be provided online this year and the next.
Adwani said that the number of deaths from traffic accidents dropped last year to 193 cases only, which is 32 percent lower than the 284 deaths reported in 2024.
He said that the compliance to wearing seat belts has been 100 percent. He also added that Kuwait’s 2035 plan is to cut traffic accidents by 50 percent.
