New Oman driving test rules to benefit expat males

If you're heading to Oman on a new assignment, this new rule may make your life easier.

Every male driver in Oman will soon be able to choose between taking a driving test on an automatic transmission car or a geared car. The move takes into account demands from the community that learning to drive and sitting for a driving test in vehicles with automatic transmission should not be limited to female drivers as is the present law.
Although the new rules aren’t likely to become law until early in 2019, both expats, Emiratis and driving instructors say they’re more than pleased with the decision.

Teaching and testing will still be available for those wishing to continue driving geared cars, but a high demand from men for the automatic transmission option is expected as it makes negotiating traffic snarl-ups far less annoying. The decision came as the result of a study by Oman’s General Directorate of Traffic and will apply to all the emirate’s driving instructors and examiners across the Sultanate. Expats in particular are pleased with the proposed change, as many who had learned to drive on automatic transmission cars in their home countries had been forced to retake the present geared car driving test after they’d arrived in Oman.

One unfortunate expat who’d taken his driving test 10 times before he was allowed out on the roads considers the development an ‘excellent idea’ which will help a large number of expats get their local licenses. The cost element of taking so many driving tests as well as having extra lessons every time a driver is failed isn’t cheap, and Oman’s public transport network leaves a lot to be desired as regard work-related travel. The only possible problem with having a license only allowing driving of an automatic vehicle may be the difficulty of only being able to rent a manual gear car in an emergency.