An encounter with a midde-age qatari driver

the hardest safety device to correct in a car is the nut that holds the steering wheel....got that?

The only constant in this world is change

I am a Qatari...that owns a land cruiser. I am aware of the generalizations that paint us all with the same brush, but let me assure you, I wear my seat belt and drive safely and according to the rules and laws of the Traffic police. Here, I am not defending nor am I attacking any one. There are somethings that need to be pointed out.

Firstly, there are crazy drivers in Qatar, and sadly some of them are Qatari. However, there are crazy drivers everywhere in the world, and the reason behind crazy driving may be the lack of education. Not all Qataris drive crazy. Many of us are educated and rational enough to understand the seriousness behind driving like a maniac.

However, sometimes, people driving here are not even Qatari. THERE IS A LOT OF THIS---many people dress exactly like Qataris do even though they may not even be Qatari, or even Arab! Some may be uneducated, poor, and probably did not grow up in the best of childhood environments. Although I have always believed in helping these people, I dislike the way they cast a bad light over us Qataris. Just wanted to say to you guys that generalize that not all of these people are actually from Qatar.

@angelwings, LOL!!

To be honest, I'm Qatari and I have to deal with a few idiots. That's the way it goes. It's not discriminatory. Some guys with big heads think they own the road.

It's everywhere, not just Qatar.

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Easy Peasy. One goes over the top, and the other reverses around it !

A.W.

If the grass is greener on the other side, its sure the water bill is higher !

Who has the right of way?

Please also remember that not everyone who wears a thobe and ghatra are not qataris only. Similarly all the LC's are not just driven by Qatari's. Thereare other nationalities who drive even worse than qataris

and I dont even feel like mentioning those nationalities as

it will open many old wounds.

'Oh. . . Finally, Ive just had a telephone call from Toyota. They want all the Landcruisers returned to Japan. Apparantly "they're not your Toyotas"'

- brilliant comment!!

Just to add something, at the vegetable souq I asked a Qatari man where I could find the plant souq, he got in his car and insisted I follow him, he led me there, then went on his way. It was very polite. On the contrary, I've also encountered alot of rude behavior among locals, mostly among young male drivers, it's not just road rage, it is definitely an attitude among some (no generalising, of course) that you should yeild to their every move, in shopping line-ups, and on the road, because this is 'not our land'.

This is bothersome because this attitude seems to be most prominent among young qatari's, I hope this is not a sign of things to come in future years.

Aisha summed it up better than anyone else. I furthermore believe it is firstly about personal maturity (or rather a lack thereof) before anything else. This is not something that is going to change soon, and yes, not all Qatari's drive this way but many do. There is a total lack of respect on Qatar's roads and it is amazing how many people adopt this driving style (even among the non-Qatari's)... I unfortunately have no appreciation for this kind of behaviour.

My Grand Dad was here first in the mis 60s, he then bought his sons (My Father being the eldest)and daughters here in Doha.

I have spent most of my life here in doha(proper city), my kids are born here too.

At 6 yrs olds, I have experienced my uncle (22yrs, Dad yougest bro)death by a car accident. I still remeber it as it was yesterday, he was knocked by a drunk EU national driving a GMC truck pick up

I have seen the reclamation and final developement of the corniche.

Let me tell there were rules, Signs, traffic police (still remeber the old BMW and kawasai M/bikes)etc. Women were allowed to drive and they did. My aunt had a license and used to take us swimming at the then QGPC club at Ras Abu Aboud.

To my little knowledge, they were being followed, as in those days the only accidents/trajedies you heared were from expats try negotiate the Sand Dunes (local territory)

Licenses were tougher in the old days than now-a-days (still a hot debate with the old folks at home parties)

In the late 70s and early 80s, locals drove superior cars American, Swedish, British, German cars.

16 years ago would be around the gulf war crisis, Doha had a very decent infrastucture at the time.

Yes, there lies a major fault in parents bringing up their kids.

My Late Father bought a brand new '82 Volvo 244 GLE full auto, he'd never let me flavour driving let alone start that CAR, even when I was in college here doha

Todays world is different, let alone the father, you will observe uncles, aunts, cousins freely jump in and spoil kids in the name of love

I am sorry, Your statement is not only unfare but just not true too!!

Assuming that this ignorant little man had the audacity to try this anywhere else in the world, I think he would be found lying by the side of the road. ( you dont get out your car to argue with fellow drivers where i live). I would have let him call the Police, you got to confront this attitude head on.

Mir 83 - Your correct "this is not our land". However that has absolutley no relevance to this issue in relating to Road safety and driver consideration.

I tend to find most Qataris are good drivers ( if a little pacey). Oh apart from the one i saw this morning reading his paper on his steering wheel whilst passing a busy school.

Oh. . . Finally, Ive just had a telephone call from Toyota. They want all the Landcruisers returned to Japan. Apparantly "they're not your Toyotas"

I feel disgusted at that person's attitude.

Can't wait until he goes to another country and someone does that to him.

Funny thing is, I have a quite mixed face (I don't look like a typical Qatari), so I really do want this to happen to me one day.

I'll explode in his face and call the police.

I'd probably whip out my phone and film what was going on.

Sorry you had to have such a rude experience, but trust me, we're not all like that. Some people are just giant heads walking around.

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not to get harassed on the roads by any is to take buses instead or quit driving here.

some poeple are like that they thinks that expatriates should give way to them irrespective of speed or track.

Im not teling all r like this but a few pople are there who behaves like this

Hey guys, You would not believe how high the vehicular accidents that happens here everyday in Qatar. I don't have the data but colleagues told me one of the highest in the world(Can you believe that???) Majority of our responses in the ambulance service are always vehicular accidents. I also have a car( a very small one) and with nearly 20 yrs driving in our country, the best possible way to drive defensively here is to always stay on the outer side of the road( slow lane) and let all those big vehicles speed by. Up to now i am wondering why so many people here are always in a hurry?

Peace to all!

I agree with Kelly that is the best way to deal with it.

Everywhere you will find the good nice people and the arrogant guys.

It is not acceptable for one to threaten others coz he is Qatari. All are equal under the umbrella of the law.

I would recommend for everyone not to stop in the streets and argue with such guys. Being chased or harrased, I would keep driving and stop whenever I find a police patrol whether being traffic police or internal security, or call 999 while being chased. Always let the authorities take the action and don't have ourselves in troubles, even if we are mistaken.

We ran out of gas on the way from Abu-Dhabi, afer crossing Saudi/Qatar border approximately 15km inside Qatar. A Qatari stopped by, helped us to call police and left only after police arrived. Policemen took me 20 km down to the petrol station, got a 2L can for me, took me back to our car, and since 2L was almost not enough, followed us all the way to the gas station, to make sure we are safe. You know what my wife told me? "Thank God it happened to us in Qatar!"

thanks Wakeke...I'm encouraged to bite my lip now. I've been here 20 years and had no more than two of those scenarios in that time. But I didn't have your capabilities! My window came down first, and my words were first and last.... and I felt like I won. But that didn't make me happy. I will try your method, I think its better.

That one man you encountered does not represent the myriad of Qatari's who are helpful, hospitable and thoughtful towards others.

One expat woman I know had difficulty with her car one evening, and standing by the side of the road, she was passed by dozens of 'expat' drivers. Then a Qatari came by, and stopped, sorted everything out, made her feel safe, and got her home to her husband and kids. She was grateful yet shocked that it was a local person, and not one of her 'own kind'- someone alien to both her nationality and culture - who had been the ONLY ONE to come to her rescue.

I couldn't start my car downtown Doha, and it was (guess who!!) a Qatari who came and sorted everything out for me. No one else wanted to know. So I'm sure you'll find that this one stinky incident will be heavily outweighed by many more good deeds done by his compatriots.

Angelwings

If the grass is greener on the other side, its sure the water bill is higher !

Wakeke - every country has its share of not very educated people. You happened to stumble onto one of the local ones. Just ignore them, this is the worst that can happen to them - when they want to fight, and you ignore them :)

Qatari are generally nice and educated people, not once and not twice I had been helped by a Qatari in the traffic. Take it easy. Your nerves are not worth it.

wakeke , you have done the right thing and i really admir that ^^ .. stuff like that happen a lot here and around the world and i think it happend to all of us in one way or another .. and it even happen to me once where i was pulled over by a guy ... but in this case i was the Qatari with the land cruiser and he was the from sudan so the joke was on me lol ..

but i couldn't really take it so i kinda went basilisk on him and almost did something i was going to regrate ^^" .. its just that he made half of my car go over the roundabout because of the way he turned and then when i honked on him he got angry and told me to stop ! .. im not the kind that get angry but he really pushed me that day and i really wanted to hit him until he started to talk about his work and kids and life so i just calmed down and left him ..

So maybe its like you said that he just woke up on the other side of the bed lol .. or his just crasy xD .

Thank you guys for the overflowing support and comments.

I know that it's not too late for him to be civil and hope that his kids will not emulate him. Young Qataris are going to college nowadays and I am confident that these guys will make a difference in Qatar.

btw, my wife is with me when that happens and she could not believe what she heard of this guy (speaks broken english).

Could you elaborate your statement: "This not your land" in relationship to traffic laws, road courtesy and the general experience of driving in Qatar?

I'm dying to hear your statement.

Cardinal OF QATAR LIVING

So what if it's not our land ? We're participating and helping in its growth and development, so we should atleast have some rights.

This is not your land....

but let's not all give excuses for bad manners. The interior ministry have filled the roads with awarness signs written in Qatari dialect about the excuses Qataris give for their bad behavior when driving. Unfortunately no one reads them. In fact some finds them funny!

red yvw.

told me that he doesn't know where his car brakes are!!!! Apparantely, he has a (Driving) 'Licence To Kill.'

Thank you.

I made the correction.

Cardinal OF QATAR LIVING

Sorry to hear that happen to you. Is just one big bad apple of the whole group.

Is called Road Rage!

You did the right thing in biting your lips.

I believe he took advantage of you because you are a solo DRIVER also.

You have nice Karma under pressure.

Cardinal OF QATAR LIVING

I suppose the way the Qataris drive is that not too long ago (16 years ago when I came to this country) there were not many roads. No road signs. No speed limits. No street names. No traffic police. Qatari women were not allowed to drive either. Hardly any traffic. What you used to see, at that time, were old qataris in pick-up trucks, or even in normal cars transporting their sheep inside the cabin. Camels on trucks. And at that time you used to watch out for these people as they had absolutely no idea about traffic rules. I even wonder if they had a driving license. They were used to off-road driving, which even a lot of streets in Doha were in those days. I suppose why they drive like maniacs today is because they still have this mentality in their brains and were not brought up with proper road knowledge not the etiquette of driving.

Aisha-Taweela

red pope ,wakeke is a male.

We shouldn't assume that all gulfy looking, dishdash wearing, land cruiser driving males are Qatari, a lot of them are not, the native Qatari's that I've met are usually polite and helpful.

It's too easy for one to judge with one's standards at the end of the day. You never hear any racists slurs in Qatari stadiums, although most criminal activity is not reported in Qatar the rate is still one of the lowest in the world and if anyone is really concerned about the road rage in the country it's a good thing to write to the ministry of interior and complain, if we all started doing that, without getting too political, I'm sure changes will happen as they always do when it's in the public's interest.

Yes, it's arrogant and wrong. Road rage it's called in some countries. Have recently been in Rome where all sorts of finger and arm gestures are used as well as windows been rolled down and expletives been yelled. It's a worldwide thing I guess. Doesn't make it right though! ______________________________________________________________________

Love is the answer...

I have been driving here for over 2 yrs now and i always give way to locals, if they honk i move my car to the right lane. i never ever stay on the fast lane or left lane coz even if your driving above 100kph the land cruiser or 4x4 behind you is raging impatiently and want to run over you. they are always on a hurry, and am not. family is waiting at home.

But back home street arrogance will be settled man to man (drivers there carry a baseball bat or a gun in their car).

"waiting is an art, timing is everyting"

NOVITTA AND HAMLET...YOU GUYS ARE SPOT ON . YOU ARE NOT LIKELY TO GET THE SAME BEHAVIOR FROM A QAT DRIVING A CAMRY OR HONDA OR EVEN A PORSCHE.LEAVE ALONE QATARIS IT GOES FOR ANY DRIVER.RIGHT NOW THE ONLY SAFE WAY TO TRAVEL ON QATAR S ROADS IS A .....U GUESSED IT...a helicopter!!!!

yes you are right, they are also not environmentally friendly

Landcruiser should be ban in Qatar ... some parents think buying 4 liter engine car for son's 17th bday present is the sign of love.

DONT BLAME THE QATARIS. BLAME THE LAND CRUISERS.!IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT READ YDAY NIGHTS FORUM TOPIC ON "CHANGES IN DOHA".

It is just a single incident and there is no need for generalisation, I have been living here for more than 5 years and enver had such an encounter, any way dear don't bother yourself it is not worthy :)

yeah I agree with you! I do not generalized all of them because most of the qataris are kind and helpful just like their Emir.

But I don't know with this guy. Maybe he woke up on the other side of the bed.:) Hmmm... Can he do it with a westerner? Obviously I'm not.:)

No ... we dont have any right with the Qatari when it comes into driving. You should just give way to them. Thats what i do for 6 yrs living here. And yes it is annoying ...

On the contrary of your story ... yesterday we want to look for this riding club down in Al Rayyan road. I had the map from another mum at school, but she draw it like nearly 1 yr ago. So today we explore the place and try to find the entrance. Somehow the place that should be an entrance to the riding club all blocked off due to the building site in education city. We weren't so sure and try to find another way to get in ... went around it and cant see anything that looks like another entrance. So we stopped in one of the house with the tent outside to look at our map. A young Qatari guy came out from the tent ... he asked what are we looking for ... we show the map and pointing at the riding club ... This Qatari guy try to explain where it is ... but because his english very limited we couldn't understand each other. So he just said come follow me. He jumped into his car (brand new escalade black colour) and we followed him. We ended up in the same place that we been before. He said according to the map this is the place. And he told us to wait he going to ask the security. So he go down and ask the security ... security have no idea what we talking about. He then made a few phone call and talking in arabic. He said his friend also have no idea. I think then he trying to say that there is an 'horse place' somewhere in Hyatt Plaza (which is i guess he referred to Equastrian club). My husband trying to tell him is allright not a big deal ... we can ask again to the lady who gave us a map. And then he offered to take us to the nearest shopping mall ... just in case we dont know our way around. He probably think we are a new expat jst arrive in Doha. I was really impressed with the hospitality of this Qatari guy, and really appreciate it.

Both me and husband talked about it in the car ... and said most probably this is the same driver that we normally swear at on the road lol. :D