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There is no law against women driving in Saudi Arabia. That doesn't keep women who drive from being arrested, though, as the case of Manal Al-Sharif proves. Instead of laws, the kingdom's women are forbidden from driving due to fatwas, or religious opinions, rendered by ultra-conservative clerics of the influential Wahhabi sect.
Today, those fatwas were challenged by women across Saudi Arabia in a campaign called Women2Drive; challenged and, thanks to social media, witnessed in real time.
A Saudi woman, Manal al-Sharif, has been arrested after posting a video of herself driving on YouTube and Facebook, according to Al Jazeera.
She was taken into custody Saturday, not by the country's police - driving as a woman is not illegal - but by the mutaween, the "religious police" of Saudi Arabia. Her video provides "proof" of her alleged wrongdoing but it has also made her a cause célèbre.
I live in a place where they've recently banned the use of mobile phones while driving, with additional penalties for texting. And I have a lot of company: Six U.S. states have prohibited handheld mobile use by drivers, and 20 won't be happy with you if you SMS from behind the wheel.
(It's having an impact. I'm noticing a sharp reduction in "Totally just ran someone over" tweets from friends.)
The latest edition of mobile navigation app Waze has just launched in the iTunes App Store and on the Android Market Place with the Symbian and Windows Mobile versions available on the Waze website. In this updated version, the company has added even more features to their already popular "munching" game which sends a Pac-Man like character loose on the roads to help build the company's mapping database and validate the roads already in place.
Unlike other mobile navigation apps, Waze "crowdsources" its map-making process, reliant on its users to switch the app on when driving around town. Then, using the phone's built-in GPS capabilities, Waze uses the information sent back to create base maps and determine traffic patterns in order to warn other users of traffic jams ahead.
For once the Bay Area Rapid Transit service has more to brag about than its endless supply of used under-the-seat bubble gum and noxious mystery smells. According to its site, Bay Area Rapid Transit will be the first transit agency to partner with location-based game sensation Foursquare.
Waze is a free mobile navigation application which uses crowdsourcing to build its maps. Simply by having the application open and running, drivers using GPS-enabled smartphones can contribute map data to Waze where it then becomes part of the base map. Through passive tracking features which monitor speed, direction, and starts and stops, Waze can also identify traffic patterns to warn you of jams ahead. Drivers who want to take a more active roll in contributing content on hazards and accidents can do so from the app...although hopefully, not while driving.
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