Driving – Qatar style
“Watch out,” I screamed as a white land cruiser shot out from the exit behind us, and undertook us on the inside of the roundabout. I was about to have my first Qatar driving accident.
I was in my friend’s 1980’s Mercedes, a big solid metal car. Since then, I have bought my own car. But since that first incident, despitedriving experience in Thailand and Indonesia – not the safest places in the world themselves - I have never completely relaxed.
Qatar is a pretty safe country in almost every way apart from itsdriving . It’s a country with people from all over the world, all with their particular ideas on how to drive. Roundabouts are a particular nightmare. Cars shoot from exits without looking, randomly change lanes, and cause numerous accidents. Worse, they are not allowed to move after accidents until a police car has arrived, causing endless hold-ups.
It can sound funny – until someone dies. One of my Qatari colleagues lost all the female members of her immediate family in one crash. Another lost her only son. A college lost thirteen of its students over a two week holiday, for a particularly heavy toll is taken of Qatari youth.
The Government is making serious efforts to improve the situation. They are installing cameras on traffic lights and on roads, putting policemen on roundabouts in rush hour to direct the traffic, and are slowly replacing roundabouts with traffic lights. Yet the accidents continue to pile up!
So what happened to that white land cruiser? He swerved back into the middle lane, we braked to avoid it, and a pick up truck slammed into the back of us. The pick up truck was badly damaged, but the Mercedes was barely dented. Because of the Mercedes, we were okay. Till next time, at least.
Tips
- Don't rely on people's indicators. In the rare event of them being used, they are often indicating the wrong way - or just on for the heck of it.
- When traffic lights turn green, check adjacent road for people shooting lights before proceeding.
- Watch out for people swerving across lanes - especially on roundabouts.
- Never ever expect other drivers to respect your right of way.
- When there is no divide between roads, be ready to go off the road to avoid insane land cruiser over-taking tactics.
- Stay in the middle lane and keep your cool as you get under-taken and over-taken left, right and centre.
"Hmm, which side of the road shall I drive on today?"
Also see: Qatar Driving
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I was in my friend’s 1980’s Mercedes, a big solid metal car. Since then, I have bought my own car. But since that first incident, despite
Qatar is a pretty safe country in almost every way apart from its
It can sound funny – until someone dies. One of my Qatari colleagues lost all the female members of her immediate family in one crash. Another lost her only son. A college lost thirteen of its students over a two week holiday, for a particularly heavy toll is taken of Qatari youth.
The Government is making serious efforts to improve the situation. They are installing cameras on traffic lights and on roads, putting policemen on roundabouts in rush hour to direct the traffic, and are slowly replacing roundabouts with traffic lights. Yet the accidents continue to pile up!
So what happened to that white land cruiser? He swerved back into the middle lane, we braked to avoid it, and a pick up truck slammed into the back of us. The pick up truck was badly damaged, but the Mercedes was barely dented. Because of the Mercedes, we were okay. Till next time, at least.
Tips
- Don't rely on people's indicators. In the rare event of them being used, they are often indicating the wrong way - or just on for the heck of it.
- When traffic lights turn green, check adjacent road for people shooting lights before proceeding.
- Watch out for people swerving across lanes - especially on roundabouts.
- Never ever expect other drivers to respect your right of way.
- When there is no divide between roads, be ready to go off the road to avoid insane land cruiser over-taking tactics.
- Stay in the middle lane and keep your cool as you get under-taken and over-taken left, right and centre.
Also see: Qatar Driving
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posted by Qatarguest at 12:24 am
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