Aspiring taxi drivers in Jordan will have to take courses on road safety and proper driving habits in order to get behind the wheel, an official said on this week.
The head of the Traffic Department Institute (TDI), Lt. Col. Jamil Salim, told the Jordan Times that around 50 new drivers had already graduated from courses that began almost two weeks ago.
Salim said the one-week course, which is not required of already licensed taxi drivers, included 25 hours of lectures on various traffic topics to guide taxi drivers before they hit the road.
The lectures include teaching the drivers the location of tourist sites, government institutes and ministries in the kingdom, the traffic official said.
Drivers are also taught how to use street maps to locate a destination by numbered addresses, and educated on road safety, proper treatment of passengers, and general driving conduct.
In addition, drivers are introduced to first aid procedures.
According to Salim, the new initiative is part of recent regulations that oblige all newly-established taxi offices “to send their drivers to our courses before obtaining permission to operate a cab.”
Currently, there are around 13,000 licensed taxis on the kingdom's roads, and officials believe the number of people holding public transportation licenses is much higher – Albawaba.com
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