Blowing Stop Signs in Qatar
Over the past months I have been sticking to my North American driving standards, using signal lights, staying my distance behind the car in front( with my eye in the rear view mirrow prepared to shut down the car behind who wants to transgress this sacred space), keeping my lanes in RAs, all this time hand firmly close to horn button.I have learned to live with the guys who want to go ahead and flash their lights( unless I plan to take the next left etc), also I seem to have come to an understanding that most of these drivers have some driving skills. I am courteous to local drivers and let them in, especially those who use their signal lights., in return I always get a courteous gesture.
However today I decided to bring attention to what I consider one of the major issues with driving in Qatar, drivers that are not from Europe,North America and local. Perhaps I have missed some in this list, but again we are talking in general terms.
Todays incident, and as usual, involves drivers from areas not listed above.While pulling into my local Al Meera parking lot I was forced to stop by two cars driving through a STOP sign in the parking lot.The first driver drove on, but I happened,just happened to park next to the second one.I did blow my horn to both cars, so the second driver was a bit tepid getting out of his car, however I got out and waited by the stop sign. When he came by I pointed to the sign. His first reaction was looking for a UFO. Once he reaized what I was pointing at and understod it was a stop sign, he referred to the first car and said what about him. I told him to watch the STOP signs and not the car in front.
Last month it was a guy who almost sideswiped me from the right hand side after my signal to turn right was on for about 10 seconds...his excuse was if he stopped the car behind would run into him.
I can imagine it would be very time consuming to put everyone through a drivers test who comes to work in Qatar, and if they did, it may be hard to break the learned helplessness that goes on in Countries that are very overcrowed, have few rules,are all over the road vying for spots to launch their cars into, but a big issue here are the ones who do the exact opposite of what a good driver is supposed to do.
My wife has had similar experiences and several times has been hit from behind because she exercises caution. All of the infractors were driving white,half ton work trucks.
Lastly one evenig while driving my motorcycle to the local corner store another "driver" in a BMW he did not own was bring the wife and family of his employer home and blew a stop sign almost hitting me, if I was actually going the speed limit, I would have hit the BMW on the side.I followed him and made an issue. He was unresponsive to why he did that and while I felt like explaining to the local woman that his actions could have put her and her family at risk, I let it go.Next time I don't think I will, because the women probably wan't watching what he was doing and may not have understood.
I know fatal accidents are an issue, and many are caused by issues other than I mention, but for my 2 cents worth, I would start at the grassroots level and nail the populace that gives me grief.
Dude, I've seen many westerners committing some of the worst infractions.
It's viral!
The best solution for you is to hire a driver, or you may get reported by some local and deported soon.
So the poster is saying ALL drivers from countries listed in his little rant drive like saints around here and all the lawless acts on the roads are caused by the rest of us who are only here to drive half ton pick ups (and apparently not too well either)
While I wholeheartedly agree to the notion of a more comprehensive enforcement than just slapping bankruptcy inducing fines for a red light slip, it's appalling to call everyone else bad drivers just cos the're not from your almighty nation...some of us can drive quite courteously and sensibly despite the 'overpopulated' and 'lawless' environment we were exposed to in our upbringing.
Yet somehow, here we both are in a land foreign to both of us. Keep an open mind next time you see someone jump a stop sign, may not necessarily be me ;)
And ask your wife not to stomp on the breaks in panic the second another vehicle shows up in the mirror.
Cheers mate!
They need more cops out on the roads .Heck, I've seen more cop car's with speed-guns in Dubai than I ever did on I-95 ! So Qatar clearly is lagging in the enforcement department.And even that would only address issues such as speeding.Stuff like stopping at stop signs, right-of-way, yielding etc I'm afraid are concepts alien to people not from the regions Cangat1 mentioned.
And yes, I'd have to agree that the most frequent offenders are the "drivers" who happen to be overwhelmingly of a particular nationality and in all likelihood have never driven a motorized mode of transportation prior to setting foot in Qatar.
live a happy life and be at good side always...Peace be with you.
I mean he felt...
I have here was due to the mistake of a britman driving panero who just enter r/a across my car... :-(
Perhaps be felt a euphoria for driving big suv & low petrol price
I agree about bad driving in Qatar, but I would not agree with your generalizing the drivers from countries other than N.America, Europe & Local.
Most of the times its a lot of local drivers who are driving badly. So trying to put the blame squarely on other nationalities & absolving the Americans & Europeans is NOT right.
I've been here 3 years and the stuff that has happened in the first 2.5 years would make a book.Patience and wiser? I can make my case, but I will hold my ground and oh yea, have a young daughter and will protect her interests, even if someone reports and detains me, what can they do?, give me a hard time? Ill take it. You are right about the need to be out enforcing rules of the road. 1) Lives can be saved,2) Money could be saved in insurance claims.
While on vacation if you get involved in a traffic accident, most often you will be stuck back home. That pulls most men from driving, though they can..
Flor, I have,,,,and most of my friends who drive here, don't want to drive there.
Hi driving in India is much easier with some good understanding. always the pedestrian is given the right of way. pple slow down and no one will hit u from behind. they also slow down.. the traffic in mumbai has become so much that it is like moving inch by inch in office hrs .. so no worries. Highway driving is bad.. pple drive with one light on and all. but I drive without any fear in mumbai but have to think twice before driving here.
It was amazing to see the driving in vietnam.. 2 wheelers criss cross even after the signal stops..for a few minutes , pple keep driving giving way to each other and pedestrians also manage to cross!
your Filipino friends!
My Indian friend told me that the driving in India is much worse than here.
Welcome to the land of finger-pointing and excuses.
welcome to Doha
her driving class for stopping at a stop sign. The instructor yelled at her and told her "you don't stop, you just slow". With those kind of instructors here, what do you expect?
Those hexagonal red thingies? Oh, THAT'S what they're for!
Mandi
Most of those you didn't include in your opening statement DO have to take lessons and THEN a driving test.
The issue to me is not those idiots (no matter their nationality or driving habits and/or ethics) but enforcement.
There is an almost total reliance on cameras here - whereas you and I in North America, or Europe would slow down to avoid a speeding citation when we see a police car, here, one can regularly overtake any police vehicle at 20 - 50% over the speed limit with impunity.
Here too, you can "buy" someone to "admit" they were the one driving your vehicle when it was caught jumping a light or speeding. Not so in my country. The fine follows the car owner not least because it is sometimes impossible to determine who the driver was - so the vehicle owner takes the hit.
Enforcement equally and universally is the key. I'm not holding my breathe.
qatar, dude. Don't expect to have an ideal implementation of traffic rules here. I saw the enforcement getting weaker & weaker. You are not the superman who strong enough to fight for the law, if u r not careful, u can be detained from somebody else report.
For the case with family's driver, the employer's family will, for sure they will defend their driver against a stranger like you. Especially with the woman, dont argue too much as their voice is heard stronger by somebody.
Be more patient & wiser...