MoI: Maintain two seconds behind vehicle
The Ministry of Interior's (MoI) official Facebook page recently raised the issue of maintaining a safe distance between vehicles on the road.
The two-second rule is normally followed for safe distance in ideal conditions. But given the road and weather conditions and other factors this may have to be increased to three or four seconds.
According to a report, the two-second rule is a 'rule of thumb' by which a driver may maintain a safe following distance at any speed.
The rule is that a driver should ideally stay at least two seconds behind any vehicle that is directly in front of the driver's vehicle. It is intended for automobiles, although its general principle applies to other types of vehicles.
The MoI requested motorists to leave adequate space between one's vehicle and the vehicle in front to ensure the safety of both, in case an emergency stoppage is required.
However, when it comes to driving behind emergency vehicles such as an ambulance and the police, Lekhwiya and Civil Defence vehicles, the ministry's post specifically urged motorists to keep their distance at least 50 metres behind.
khalli: lol, ok buddy, well noted :-)....and I mean EVERYTHING I say on QL and elsewhere so yeah we'll need to find a balance haha...but yes anything i say to you is just a reply to and my opinion on what you say and you can take it as just sincere, fun conversation and never a personal attack...but hey, now you have the self enforced responsibility of announcing when you're 'serious' and you must adhere to it....because you say some pretty biting and provocative stuff about various topics such as Qatar, Qataris, religion, God and what not, so you can't later claim innocence because it's not labelled 'serious'...I get your view of the world, I enjoy your participation on QL and I like you the way I like most people, but others might not and you need to appreciate that some topics you comment on are pretty sensitive and you thus can't have your 'serious' cake and 'jokingly' eat it too lol...oh crap, now I want cake...
and hey khalli don't knock the brits ok haha; i love the brits; they act all tough and cold but really are such softies at heart lol, especially the Welsh, they're the most chilled out of the lot :-)
zafirah: no, that way, some people might miss the seminar...instead, i will dedicate the rest of my life to attacking each and every whining post and repeat myself endlessly, until one day, when the sun will rise on a 'flashless' QL lol..
khalli: man, i just stared at the last part of your comment for a while...i really think you're on to something here...you think its possible some of them are really still following the indian/brit lane system?....yes..yes...that makes perfect sense and i'm not being sarcastic...oh god...i'm really going to be observing them most keenly now on...i myself, who am preaching here, have failed driving tests both in Qatar and India...drove on the wrong side both times because i'd been driving in the other country immediately before that...the cop in qatar was so dumbstruck, he just slowly waved me out of the car without a word :-)
hahaha molten that was hilarious hahaha 'enemy of the birds' lmao...now i can't stop imagining whole flocks of birds taking off the moment khalli innocently walks past lol..
mohdata - i wish you could do driving seminars even for QLers... it will lessen the whining on "flashing" and "move out of my lane" complaints on LC's ...... ;)
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk211/Bobbalouie_photo/Art%20Fotos/002de9.gif
Khalli , Enemy of the birds , killed two just with his comment above.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk211/Bobbalouie_photo/Art%20Fotos/002de9.gif
zafirah: lol love the happy pic...jokes aside, sorry for the screaming comment but this is a common complaint/topic on QL and also a topic very close to me..i stand by what i said...i don't understand how people can have so much trouble adapting to a new driving culture even if it's admittedly less disciplined than what they might be used to; I and many others are driving on the same streets and having a great time with the same LandCruisers giving us thumbs ups/smiles/waves/single honks of thanks and what not...why is this happening? Well, I LOOK IN MY MIRRORS as much as I look ahead and usually am out of the way of a flying Land Cruiser before it even gets close...he then flies past, flashes his hazard lights to thank me and both of us go our own merry way...easy peasy...and people from India/Pakistan/Philippines and other Asian countries should whine the least considering their own maddening driving cultures back home...and guess what? I had a great time driving there too..it's your attitudes and egos guys, not the Land Cruisers that are the problem..fact..
ahem... mohdata, car is really your passion.... ;) ...............
there's another thing; good defensive driving also means you are aware of your surroundings...this means that you must sometimes match your speed to traffic around you...so to the people who stick to 80 in the fast lane because that's the limit, well, you are being an obstacle to faster cars which are in the correct overtaking lane and it is you who should be getting out of their way WHEN YOU CAN AND WHEN IT'S SAFE FOR YOU TO DO SO...i see many people flashing at slower cars in the overtaking lane and honestly, after considering both sides' viewpoint, 6 out of 10 times, the guy being flashed at by a speeding LandCruiser fully deserves it...he even deserves the aggressive swerve and cut-off the Cruiser then gives him in fury...seriously guys, JUST MOVE if its safe for you to do so WHY WON'T YOU MOVE????? and then why are you shocked when you're flashed and angrily cut-off??? its not called the fast lane it's called the overtaking lane...the guy behind wants to go faster and ahead of you....common sense says YOU MOVE....also, if a cop wanted, he could LEGALLY fine you for obstructing fast moving traffic even if you are maintaining the speed limit....
molten: 'the rule is for emergencies and so we should not bother'; but you have very conveniently forgotten that an emergency by definition happens unexpectedly,at any moment... so, to simplify it for you, since it can occur at any moment, you Sir, should also be 2 secs behind at any moment...you're welcome:-)
dreaming is free rizks and zafirah.....lols!
No thanks, go away....:)
i'll be glad to slap you Rizku, give me the honor please.... ;)
"Qatar will become the most safest country "....can someone please pinch me ? :(
We, QLiners reading and commenting here can contribute and be the good example of 2-4secs rule. We start or continue our safe driving attitude, And tell our friends drivers about it. for the meantime never mind those thrill seekers drivers....inshallah, little by little everybody will do the same thing, who knows? In the future, Qatar will become the most safest country for driving.
I used to do the 2 seconds rule, i'll always make sure that there's a enough space in front of me for the safety of me & the car before me. But, some stupid drivers/local/SUV/ fill the gap that intended for the safe distance. Suddenly it popped up in front of me without any signal.They take advantage the distance to swerve. Whatta driver?Whoahhh!
'' ......The MoI requested motorists to leave adequate space between one's vehicle and the vehicle in front to ensure the safety of both, in case an emergency stoppage is required.''
Why do you guys bother about all this, it { 2 seconds & gap } is a measure for an EMERGENCY , not for your routine day to day driving , stick to your expertise , enjoy the thrill ....................... .......... Thu , 14.08.2014 , 09.23 hrs
kiwi, add to that the texting .... ;)
Exactly what I was thinking urstruly. If you left a gap in front the morons behind you would beep and flash and tailgate you to force you to move ahead. And if you insist on keeping a gap, someone will just cut into it. Good luck to the MOI in trying to teach drivers in Qatar how to drive safely.
in Doha you will be seen as a stupid driver on road maintaining the 2 seconds safe distance, because that gap will be immediately filled by other cars. many people like me who learnt this 2 seconds rule from the comprehensive driving classes, tests and defensive driving course from UAE face the same prob. Now from 2 secs rule, we are forced to follow the 2 metre bumper to bumper driving. that's Doha.
Landcruisers and luxury cars here should be reading this!
The 2 second rule is the stndard use everywhere to allow a safe distance from the vehicle ahead.
The way it works, you set fixed point on the road you are on, like a street lighting column, a traffic sign post etc. When the car in front passes that 'post' you then count up to 2 seconds and you should be at that same spot/ post location then and not before.
It's too hard for me to know what 2 seconds is when I am driving with one sandal on the dash while reading my newspaper.
oh well.... maintain the 2 second rule and all behind you will be in front of you!
What about the ones who cut lanes without using the signals,those r more dangerous ones.i wish the traffic authorities high light those issues too.
khalli: i know you're being your usual sarcastic self lol, but that logic is like those who say television leads to rapes; but yes, the people i hate most on the roads are the ones who use their phone. The 6000 rial fine should be reserved for phone users, it is the single most dangerous act on the roads I say. You guys won't believe this, last weekend, on Salwa road, I was driving in front of a Lekhwiya cruiser, both of us doing well above the speed limit since its 3am and open road; my Dad called and in my eagerness to speak to him, I pulled of the road and stopped on the shoulder maybe a bit too suddenly; these cops thought that was weird and actually reversed back to where I stopped; by this time my Dad had hung up; here's the funny bit; when I told them why I stopped at 3am like that; they WOULD NOT believe me and actually checked the car and my Mountain Dew can for signs of alcohol lol...he actually told me that he thinks there isn't a single person in Doha who would pull over for a call...but they were friendly enough and went on their merry way after a few laughs; but there's something to be said for how prevalent it is this phone nonsense...
yesterday i had a guy flashing his lights at me from behind! the only thing i could see in my mirror was his grille! i could not move to the right since there were other cars there. i always keep a few distance between me and the car in front but again someone else just snuck into that gap!
so who on earth is gonna use this 2 second rule??
the moi is wasting its time; qatar drivers haven't evolved to the point of comprehending or following the 2 second rule...
the two second rule is calculated by using a reference point; example, you are driving behind a car and both are maintaining the same speed (can be any speed doesn't matter); now you mark some fixed point ahead of you, like a road sign/lamp-post/speed camera; the idea is that the car in front passes this fixed point and you should arrive at that point 2 seconds later....this will work at any speed and gives most cars/drivers enough time to react should the car ahead slow down for any reason...however, even a 10 second rule is useless if you're driving behind someone, with your eyes glued to your smartphone...
A rule, most of the Land Cruisers would find hard to follow.
two seconds policy is not enough because the distance requirement from any vehicle in your front shall be depending on your speed! Here in qatar 90% of car accident related to ignorance and lack of knowledge when in comes to correct distance. Mostly, flashing their headlights to get you out from your lane otherwise zero distance! (bump!) This kind of attitude of most drivers here in qatar is normal..no respect to other road users.
How to know that its two seconds? They never told us how to read the lines and check the distance between the cars. Now they want the keep a safe distance. Someone should tell them to give the drivers the right skills of driving not to let them geuss and come up with their own ideas like what are we suffering from in the doha driving style.
I did contact the MoI but never had an answer for this safe distance.