Rude behaviour on Qatar’s roads
The guy got a point there. Easy to blame the West...but the rude ones aren't them..
Maybe its just what the saying says: "When in ROME, do what the Romans do"
I don't agree...do you?
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http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=532337...
Dear Sir,
Road behaviour is getting ruder. I have seen a number of letters in Gulf Times on the subject. And I experience it on the roads; maybe everyone is slowly becoming a participant in this circus sub-consciously.
Don’t we have good roads and necessary infrastructure in Qatar? Yes, we have. Don’t we have good traffic laws in Qatar? Yes, we have. Isn’t this city small enough that you can commute end to end within 30 minutes? Yes, it is and we can.
One can understand traffic havoc happening in countries suffering from poor economy, over-population, lack of basic infrastructure, etc. It should not happen even there but that is understandable at least. But surely there is no such justification for it in prosperous Qatar.
While on the driving seat, we seem to lose our love and consideration for others. We all, including expatriates, contribute to this. There is an urgent need to educate and train drivers in good driving and public conduct to reverse our road (rude?) behavior.
We are so eager to blame the West for everything. But we need to acknowledge that there are areas where people from Asia and Africa can learn from them and improve their lives.
Restrained behavior is evident on the roads when you travel in Europe or the US. Hardly anywhere you see drivers shifting lanes at will and driving the rest of the traffic mad, despite longer and difficult traffic. Even the rare change of lanes are made with clear indications, patience and due care for others.
Yet if some pedestrians unmindfully try to cross smaller lanes at locations other than marked road crossings, drivers invariably stop and allow them to go first. We can feel that human life is very valuable there and deservedly so.
Our road behaviour will speak about us. A positive gesture on the road is pleasantly infectious and can enhance our general happiness. You can’t help feeling that life is suddenly inspiring and worthy in such settings.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=532337...
IT'S everywhere, please come and see how people are rude on London streets!
It's just disgusting.
At least the roads are in better conditions in Qatar.
one-shot, your rule No.2 is my motto.. I learned it from my instructor, who told me once: "Drive, as if you are surrounded by idiots!" And I always keep it mind on the roads... especially on Doha's roads..
One shot, SPOT ON!
the problem in some people that they are trying to show they are good drivers by being in hurry or rude.
But i have 2 rules in my driving and these rules caused 0 accidents till now alhamdulilah:
"A good driver is the one which his passengers are comfortable while he is driving "
" All drivers around you are donkeys , and all the time expect the worst or the most stupid from them "
Admit it or not, everyone who drivers here in Qatar is guilty of being an mule's posterior end once in a while.
But living in a foreign country, we have to adapt and be safe. Road courtesy, bottom line.
Never been a Mule's Posterior. Was in a Panto Horse once :O)
please do something about fedupbrit1113. He has violated several rules in several threads now. enough is enough. We don't need him on QL
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[already oopsed!
Mod]
Definitely rude i had tO ask the taxi driver doesnt anyone say thankyou after he stopped to let a car out. UNBELIEVABLE. Everyone in a rush in a country where it is hot and things move slow hmm er the two dont correlate. People driving on the dirt ie pavement to jump queues. If you dont want to be late set off earlier. As for the constant horn beeping give it a rest bore off. Whats point of beeping when a car cannot move or when traffic light is on red yes RED. Cannot believe that people drive in such fashion knowing that there are school buses and cars with children in them. Patience is a virtue please be virtueous.
i will tell you honestly....i lived in saudi arabia for 2 years and with all the bad behaviors while driving .........they have an AMAZING gesture :
who ever crossed the lane in front of you will rise his hand (like saying hello) as an apologizing.
anybody gave you a way because u r in hurry, you will rise your hand to greet him.
this behavior i miss here.
that day while i was driving to industrial area, sudenly a truck driver toke his car to the left lane trying to make u-turn as he is driving alone and this almost costs me my life i stopped the car in front of him and start shouting at him....but he looks poor and "miskeen" , i apologized from him and left...what to do??????????
nice topic...at the same time when i find a car driving by 40 km/h at the left lane, it really touch my nerves.
and when i pass him and see that he is talking on the phone i want to come out and punch him in the face.
"I have not seen one Indian, Pakistani, Filipino or any other Asian or African person allowing me to enter the traffic. By God NO!!"...hmmmm...I dont think we ever met on the roads else you would have used "I have not seen many Indians". I am so polite that I would even get down my car and drive your car into the traffic if you are surprised at my humbleness to allow you passage like the Asian or African in the story...:)
After reading all the above replies, I can say one thing: driving ethics have changed a lot since 2008. Despite the number of new cars on the road, more road construction work, driving ethics is a lot better than it was 4 years ago. Well, this is only my opinion. Perhaps, I should indicate where I drive everyday.From Mesaieed to Doha(Holiday Villa Hotel) and back. I don't know much about other parts of the country. There are traffic but they are bearable. It also depends upon what time you start and leave work.
AboBaaboo, please... why all the hate? Can you tell us more about your childhood, your rough past and all that?
you know which Landcruisers I am talking about ;-)
BTW, how come that the mods/gods are not changing your name to: britexpatriate?
A few.
Besides the point though. Traffic in other countries is much worse than here. And the drivers from those countries which reside here have brought their driving style with them. That is one ,and IMHO, the major problem.
It's easy to avoid the few cruisers on the road.
How many expats own white Landcruisers ?
No, it won't be.
beating around the bush.
Take away all the white Landcruisers (of the expats) off the roads, and everything will be fine :-)
I haven't :O)
there are many drivers who have never had an accident.
I was laughing because,for some people, acts of kindness on the road are unheard off and perceived as ..impossible.
I indicated with my hand that he can advance. I even said "please, you may.." as I usually do at home. All this without any success.
And no..you do not need to put the hazard lights on when stopped in traffic, with thousands of other cars stuck to your bumper.
? Did you put hazard lights on when you stopped inside your track to allow that asian / african enter the road ..
He was right probably. So he didn't laugh .. just wondered .. may be.
it comes from what they learn at home. Serious lack of education. Is anyone telling these people that driving bumper to bumper on a fully congested highway will not make the traffic go faster? If something it will make it go slower. Or that overtaking on a service lane will not make other drivers think: "wow..what a cool guy!!"?
Allowing your kids sit in the front sit without any seatbelt is nothing but stupid. I am still amazed every day when I see kids allowed to roam around in the car while the car is in traffic. it takes a very small impact to have the poor chap projected forward and have his/her brain splashed all over the windscreen and dashboard.
Where I am coming from, not only that the driver will receive a huge fine, but he/she will also risk prison and an interview with the social service.
So yes. It comes from a lack of education and culture. I noticed that some nationalities tend to speed like mad, thinking that is cool to zoom from one lane to another, while others are driving without paying any attention to the traffic around them. I have not seen one Indian, Pakistani, Filipino or any other Asian or African person allowing me to enter the traffic. By God NO!! They will rather reduce the distance between them and the car in front quickly, risking to crash the car, than letting me enter the traffic. I would love to know what's in their mind when they do this. Do they think that by allowing me go in front of them, their journey will be delayed by a couple of hours??? Sadly it was only westerners or Americans that are showing some "traffic generosity".
On the other hand, I had to laugh few days ago when I stopped the car and allowed a guy enter the traffic. He looked Asian or African. Poor guy looked at me shocked and refused to enter the traffic. I indicated that he can advance but no..he kept staring at me and did not move. He must've tough I am trying to kill him or something.
I have been driving for the last 20 years and had only one accident in my country(car skid on ice). I came here and in the last 4 months had 2!! both cases either rear-ended or side impact while waiting in traffic.
So education is the key factor here. My dad told me when I first started driving: "when you drive a car, you drive a weapon. Always remember this." Kids will do what their parents are doing and, based on what what I see in Doha, the new generation of drivers is going nowhere good.
the answer is al this is "YOGA" and a baseball bat .The russian road rage is entertaining. Go Youtube
Two different issues here.
Congestion is part and parcel of driving in most countries.
As for behavious on the road and adherence to the laws is concerned - yes! This needs to be addressed.
Qatar has a mainly expat population. So, we can't just blame the locals for all the misdeeds. We, as expats need to look at our own driving habits. I have witnessed many an expat flouting the laws here, wehereas they would not do so back home..
He said:
"...We are so eager to blame the West for everything....But we need to acknowledge that there are areas where people from Asia and Africa can learn from them (THE WEST) and improve their (people from Asia and Africa) lives."
This point, I agree with the letter writer.
In UK and US, they have strict traffic rules to follow, which is quite opposite here in Qatar like:
-Children are not safely seated in the car
-I can still see a couple of drivers with their left feet on the dashboard.
-When the road sign says 80kph or 100kph...its usually ignored except when they're coming near a road scanner/camera...
etc...
I am tired of these road hooligans...so I avoid driving and stay at home.
do you ever think that a fairer skin color exhibits better humanity? I have enough of people judging me for what i think and do just because I am an indian...we are all equal, i see myself that indians can be as good as any westerner and any arabs there is especially while driving
As long as there is no complete and comprehensive public transport system, there will always be traffic problems. the problem is that the people in charge of roads in the country dont yet underatnd that
Perhaps the answer is to take away the licenses of all Westerners. This way, the cars on the road will be reduced as will the incidents of rudeness.. :O)
needs practical spirituality to remain calm at others' mistakes.
I was a rude Westerner today.. :)
But it's not my fault... I almost got a heart attack when one local guy has scared me to death by his irresponsible driving, and by obvious violating the traffic law.. what do you expect, when you are 1 step away from Heaven (or from Hell, depends..) - a Nice polite smile??
So of course I yelled...
And I still managed to avoid an accident, due to my excellent reaction... but emotions.. sorry , couldn't help it..
Roads in Doha range from excellent to very very poor in some places. However this shouldn't be used as an excuse for bad driving.
Lack of traffic law enforcement is mainly responsible for poor road behavior in Qatar. Compare it with UAE, both have the same mix of expat population, but the driving culture there is a million times superior. So is road planning and traffic law enforcement.
The infrastructure has not kept pace with population growth, public transportation is minimal, and people drive like maniacs. And that is on a good day in Doha.
I have .. patience for myself
& regard for others ..
Everybody is happy !
lack of culture and education?????
this is like a virus that spreading anywhere,, not only here in qatar, ive seen different kind of abusive road behavior in some country and honestly qatar is not worst like other country,,
The quality of the road layouts will never justify a bad road behaviour. A disregard for those around you, a huge lack of culture and education is the main cause behind bad road behaviour.
Roads in Doha were not originally planned for the population that the city is holding now. Roads are gradually being widened and new roads are being constructed since the last few years to accommodate the increasing traffic. These constructions do disturb the normal flow of traffic at times and we need to understand that.
Our road behaviour speaks a lot about us..
Sorry, but the road infrastructure is not OK and what is being build takes ages (f.e. Salwa road).
true
I don't agree that road infrastructure has kept up with the number of vehicles on the road. Certainly there isn't enough appropriate parking nearly anywhere in the city proper. I would think that was because of poor urban planning and a lack of requirement in place for all buildings to provide parking adequate to their use whether commercial or residential.
The traffic laws aren't enforced or applied equally, some can get their traffic fines reduced or eliminated, some can "buy" another to take the fine and black points for them, I could go on.
It's not an us (good drivers) against them (idiots), at least not totally - it's overcrowding, a lack of enforcement and poor planning - just look at the placement of the on and off ramps on D ring - it's insane
When in Rome, don't be a Christian.:O)
should one blame the west while discussing rudeness ?
No connection at all.
Pics aren't from west either.