Going slightly off the subject, but it is linked - I'm curious...
I've heard strong rumours that if a Qatari is completely 100% to blame for a traffic accident which involves another car driven by an expat, the expat is the one who gets blamed and has to apologise to the Qatari.
So the question is, what happens to the young Qatari driver who was 'allegedly' racing with his friend in Landcruisers and killed the Al Thani minister last week? Will the authorities finally punish a local for driving like an idiot or will they just allow it all to blow over?
Any locals reading this, please don't feel that this is an attack by me - I echo Bleu's sentiments in his response to the questions listed at the top of this post.
There are a few reasons in my opinion as to why driving is so bad in Qatar:
1. Locals can afford huge cars as soon as they pass their test and due to their age drive them like toys
2. Many locals do not sit a driving test and simply use wasta (spelling?) to obtain a license.
3. Expats who cannot just swap their own license for a Qatari license do as much as it takes to pass the Qatari test, not necessarily learning anything in the process.
4. If you do not drive in the same way as most others on the road you will never reach your destination.
5. A lot of people employed as drivers have little or no education and so there is a real lack of intelligence in their actions (not meant as an insult, I just believe you require some kind of IQ to drive well)
6. Western expats realise very early how cheap it is to buy and refuel huge cars (including me).
7. Traffic laws are not enforced anywhere near as much as they should be in order for people to obey them.
Again, this is not an attack, just some fuel for a debate!
Going slightly off the subject, but it is linked - I'm curious...
I've heard strong rumours that if a Qatari is completely 100% to blame for a traffic accident which involves another car driven by an expat, the expat is the one who gets blamed and has to apologise to the Qatari.
So the question is, what happens to the young Qatari driver who was 'allegedly' racing with his friend in Landcruisers and killed the Al Thani minister last week? Will the authorities finally punish a local for driving like an idiot or will they just allow it all to blow over?
Any locals reading this, please don't feel that this is an attack by me - I echo Bleu's sentiments in his response to the questions listed at the top of this post.
There are a few reasons in my opinion as to why driving is so bad in Qatar:
1. Locals can afford huge cars as soon as they pass their test and due to their age drive them like toys
2. Many locals do not sit a driving test and simply use wasta (spelling?) to obtain a license.
3. Expats who cannot just swap their own license for a Qatari license do as much as it takes to pass the Qatari test, not necessarily learning anything in the process.
4. If you do not drive in the same way as most others on the road you will never reach your destination.
5. A lot of people employed as drivers have little or no education and so there is a real lack of intelligence in their actions (not meant as an insult, I just believe you require some kind of IQ to drive well)
6. Western expats realise very early how cheap it is to buy and refuel huge cars (including me).
7. Traffic laws are not enforced anywhere near as much as they should be in order for people to obey them.
Again, this is not an attack, just some fuel for a debate!