Are we Breeding Indisciplined Drivers?
I know a lot has been said about the driving
mannerisms of the residents of this country, not to mention the
condition of the roads, however, I would like to pose a few questions
here and hope that some optimistic answers/solutions will be advised to
me.
The following are some of my observations of drivers on Doha Roads: -
- 3 lanes of a street converge into 2 lanes at Roundabouts, which do not have lane markings
- Needless
to say, the Left Turn and U Turn lane (of a 3 lane street) whilst
approaching a roundabout is also used to go straight forward and the
extreme right lane meant for right turns, is used by drivers to take a
U Turn, putting the lives of drivers on the straight and extreme left
lanes into danger. - All cars enter the roundabout halfway and then look on their left for approaching cars, trying to squeeze its way through
- Once
you enter a roundabout and are taking a U Turn or a left turn, once has
to be careful as cars enter the roundabout straight without waiting at
the holding position from the extreme right lane of the approaching
street. Thus if you are already in the Roundabout making a turn, one
has to be careful of approaching traffic. Talk of having the right of
way. - None of the cars coming from small lanes into Main roads stop
at the joining area, where the right of way is to the traffic of the
main road cars. Here, if you are on the main road, you have to slow
down as some one just zips and joins the main road, forcing you to sow
down. Ridiculous!! - Use of the Right Side Blinking Indicator, when actually the
Car is stationary and not moving or taking a right turn. The Hazard
light (both blinkers) is normally used to display that the car is
stationary. - Taking
a left turn at a major signal from the lane meant to go straight thus
having 4 cars taking a left turn on a 3 lane street.!! - Entering a junction when the exit is not clear
The following are the observations about Parking on streets: -
- Cars
are parked perpendicular and not parallel to any street or lane. When
this type of Perpendicular parking is done on either side, the width of
the road is reduced, slowing the traffic movement - Cars parked on street , junctions corners and blind
spots. Wonder if any one has even mentioned the dangers to these
drivers of doing such parking. - In a parallel parking area a car
is parked perpendicular as the place is not enough to fit the car
parallel to the road. So you have a long queue of cars parked parallel to
the road with one guy jutting out on the road, again slowing down the
movement of the traffic. - Car is parked with Full Beam lights and not parking lights.
- Finally,
parking your car on the extreme right lane of a roundabout. Imagine you
enter a roundabout only to find that two cars are parked one behind the
other and a conversation is being held on the road. This results
waiting to enter round abouts, reaching halfway in the round about,as
they cannot see the upcoming traffic on the left side due to cars being
parked.
Having driven in many continents and getting a
Road Worthiness (Driving License) from one of the most disciplined
License issuing authorities like Dubai I am in a position to safely say that its time the
authorities take some initiatives before we have an additional hundred
thousand cars following no Road discipline and adding to traffic woes
on the streets of Doha. These are only some of the many observations
one gets to see in this country. The most shocking part is that Road
Discipline, Night driving (Use of lights) and use of roads is not
strictly adhered to by Driving Schools or for that matter the Licensing
authority. If all the residents of Qatar had to undergo a driving test
under the supervision of Dubai Licensing authorities, I am confident
more than half of our drivers will fail their driving tests.
I think it is equally important to educate new drivers as
well as existing drivers on road discipline as the number of cars in
this country's will only increase. I am happy with the new of Jail and
increase in fine for Traffic offenders. Disciplined drivers will yield
far
less casualties then organizing Road Safety Weeks in the country.
pm - glad you are ok...and yes you are so right.......
this car with three digit number plate was driving so dangerously the other day and i wanted to shout, 'you may be a vip but i still have the right to safety here'
driving is so stressful
but there are horrible 'roads' in Africa and i have bumped over them and had some gruesome road trips from Mozambique to Guineau Bissau etc and i think a lot of African mechanics/drivers are amazing. I am sure some of those guys don't get driving test but just use common sense and good grace.
it is about enforcing the rules
no ... inland sea is not accesable by road. You MUST have a good 4WD and a good GPS system to go to the place. And dont tempt it to go on your own. Go with the convoys or get the tour operator to take you there.
Can someone tell me urgently if inland sea is accessable by road?
You can always use that "You are small" card to get parking spots
who have kids, or anyone, in the back seats of your car unrestrained you need to see this!
Show it to your children because they are always in other peoples cars or on the school bus.
And yes, if they find it upsetting it's doing its job and it will stay in their mind for a very long time.
I don't go to mythical places with strange men.
-- Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.
pass me my ear plug ???
you need to shout a bit louder, lol
Tim Cahill, The Best Footballer in the World
That one was on the cinema in the UK.
PM some of the adverts are very shocking. Like I said earlier, if they keep putting on the TV adverts and cinema, it might eventually make a difference.
Tim Cahill, The Best Footballer in the World
I saw this on the tv in UK, I think they have more graphic 'shock' ads at the cinema.
http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/slowdown/download/2005tv.mpg
I don't go to mythical places with strange men.
-- Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.
I personally think everyone needs to take driving lessons from the british. They really have the art of queing and driving down to a science. And, although, I felt it was very disorderly when I first came to britain however I do now see that their is some order to the chaos. Looks can be decieving!!!
Apparantly the british license is accepted everywhere in the world. Thats what my driving instructing told me! Don't know how true it is though.
on the TV or in the Cinema like they do in the UK. I've attached an advert that was going to be in the cinema's in the UK, which was taken from http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/slowdown/slowdown.htm
view online
If you can't click onto "view online" go to the link I have put on, the advert is on there.
Also in the UK, they have shown some horrific adverts for speeding an. drink driving, which I believe has worked,
snowstrom u r dreaming
[img_assist|nid=50852|title=hmm|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=|height=0]
i wish atleast one person will keep the road manners after reading this thread.
YOU DONT KNOW ME, DONT EVEN TRY !!!
An interesting comparison.
See:
http://www.driveandstayalive.com/info%20section/statistics/stats-multicountry-percapita-2004.htm
Note
Qatar at #46
The UK and Japan have busy roads, congested urban traffic and fast moving freeway/duel carriageways etc with large populations.
Maybe the driving tests from one these countries, or an amalgam of the two, should start here.
I don't go to mythical places with strange men.
-- Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.
I think someone should copy and re-write the UK highway code for countries that drive on the right hand side and then make it compulsory for them to learn it before issuing licences here in Qatar!
Mind you, most people in the UK don't follow the rules completely, but they do tend to follow the majority (fortunately)!
"Drivers who “tailgate” drive too close to the car in front are a
menace. They probably don’t realise how intimidating their habit is.
The most benign interpretation is that they are simply trying to
indicate to the guy in front that they want to get past. That’s all
very well, if the person in front has somewhere to go - but that isn’t
always possible. Other lanes may be busy too, and it isn’t always an
option to remove yourself instantly from the path of the tailgater.
Yet statistics tell us the single most common crash in the UK is the classic rear end shunt. So what can we do to avoid it?
The easiest thing to do is remove ourselves from the problem. Aim to
change lanes on the motorway or dual carriageway, but only when it is
safe to do so. Clearly indicate your intention to pull over. That way
you can let the tailgater get past you, even if he or she is driving
too fast for the conditions and/or breaking the speed limit.
Don’t be tempted to impose the speed limit on somebody who is
clearly hell bent on breaking it. And if you choose not to let the
tailgater past, there is a danger that he will try to “undertake” you,
posing an additional risk for other road users.
We are often asked what can you do if you’re being tailgated in a 30mph zone on a single carriageway?
Pulling over here may not be practical either. But do not be
intimidated into speeding up just because somebody is right on your
back bumper. Instead, create an additional stopping distance between
you and the vehicle in front so that you when you do brake, you can do
so smoothly. Think of yourself as adding a little “buffer” zone for the
tailgater, whether he appreciates it or not. When the time comes to
brake, you can do so gently, giving a clear signal of your intention
via your stop lights. The more time your stop lights are on, the more
time the tailgater has to register that and pull back."
For this and other advanced driver tips see:
http://www.advanced-driving.co.uk/driving-tips/
I don't go to mythical places with strange men.
-- Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.
good comments
at least not with men, especially young men.
the problem is that everyone knows they can get away with it.
we have many asians in canada and they don't drive anywhere near as bad as many of the asians here. why? because more times than not they will get caught, have to pay a huge ticket, and then have their insurance go up drastically.
here, nothing happens.
basically, people will continue to drive like a$$es until the police step up. you can't really expect all these little boys with their toys to grow up on their own.
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"Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day." Withnail & I
It is the attitude....which is why you need vigorous enforcement.....a scare campaign may contribute to changing people's attitude....
'Our freedom is but a light that breaks through from another world'
I fully agree with u and really the traffic authorities need to get more lively and awake with all this happening around.......its scary at times to drive here!!
Its no point with these tiny posters. You can hardly see them....not to mention...they are in Arabic....I am compiling some pictures whenever I get to see such stuff. Some day they will be useful to show around.
You mean those tiny signs that you can only see if your at the front of the traffic lights....They are hardly effective....
I'm talking big bulletin sized images that you can't miss...
just a suggestion....
'Our freedom is but a light that breaks through from another world'
There needs to be campaigns showing explicit graphics of the dangers of reckless driving. This should be shown all over Doha to shock the hell out of people in hope they stop this dangerous, insane driving that goes on everyday!!
'Our freedom is but a light that breaks through from another world'
I didnt say I love UAE so much, however I must admit I admire their Traffic management and Driving Licence issue system.
Not many have a choice when it comes to choosing between good prospects and bad ones. Therefore I reached Qatar. No complains on that front. I only wish the traffic authorities were abreast with the rest of the region/world.
In my lengthy draft, all I am suggesting are the following: -
1} Revise the Driving Licence procedure and make it more comprehensive. Getting 1.2 million residents (locals and expats) to do another test of driving licence is not possible, hence get all the new entrants to learn the basics.
2} Didnt quite understand what you meant by "Everybody is right....and...wrong" - In this case, the international system of driving (in Left hand driven countries) is much different from the ones in Doha. Here, we still drive as if a car passes through the street every 24 hrs (like the 1970's)
3} Not parking perpendicular to any road and on turnings, are basics of any parking classes during your driving lessons, anywhere in the world.
your points are right.
Although I agree with you and wish that things were more organized, there is another point of view. Different countries do have different driving styles which are acceptable. (I would never dream of driving in China, but for them their style works).
One point which I raised in a meeting earlier with an authority is that there are incorrect road markings, especially on round abouts.
However the argument against that is that Doha wants to be an international city so it needs to appeal to all.
I DO know that the Traffic Authority is being restructured and their buildings are being revamped.
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Good observations. Hope your suggestion will work somebody. Doubt it tho.. you loved UAE so much huh? why you leave for Qatar???
Everybody is right and Everybody is wrong, its depend where you stand