Hopefully this will not happen here

No, it is not justified at all. And many people told me to get a letter from my hospital and my fine would be remitted, but I still chose to pay the fine in full. I do not justify it, I was only trying to tell you that in Qatar laws do prevail. I just wanted to quell the reservations of some morons who think otherwise.

Oh here we go again segmund......

I broke the law because I had something important to do like get to the hospital. I was only a little bit above the speeding limit.

So if you kill one person on the road due to reckless driving that is justified as you may save one life at the hospital?

... and it almost happened in Doha yesterday afternoon near the Gulf cinema

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/224674-trailer-trouble.html

No I do not mean that. I am still reeling from the effect of the huge amount of money I had to pay in fine for a few speeding tickets, even though ALL of them were at the time when I had to rush to the hospital and the limit was barely exceeded by 10 kms/hr.

The laws are in place, and you may be right, they may not be enforced in each and ever case. But laws alone wont do. If laws could curb crime, the United States would have no shoot outs at all, and their wont be any crime in countries with much more advanced legal systems than ours.

Law is just one facet of the solution, and a full-feldged solution encompasses much more.

"As to Qatar government, there have been repeated efforts made to curb this menace. Many tough rules have been put in place to tame rabid drivers into behaving safely behind the wheel."

You mean, except actually enforcing the laws?

Road Traffic Accidents are a rather frequent cause of morbidity, mortality and disability all over the world in general and in the middle east in particular. Major events like this one are a sombering reminder of the peril we all face whenever we commute.

As to Qatar government, there have been repeated efforts made to curb this menace. Many tough rules have been put in place to tame rabid drivers into behaving safely behind the wheel. Many people are fined heavily, or punished in other ways, for traffic vilations.

These efforts, although necessary and welcome, are far from being adequate and there is definitey a need to do much more. May be there is more to the issue than fines.

Perhaps we need to employ strategists to find out the root causes and then come up with fixes thereof. It simply can not go this way forever.

Thelonius..lets not fight this morning ..:)

Just read something which reconfirms destiny...

One guy who sat in this bus forgot his id card and went back to his room to get it...when he came back the bus already left and he asked them to stop but the driver didn’t bother to stop..... and this guy took special permission from his supervisor and got into another bus...

All those who were sitting in and around his seat were killed in that accident...

Coincidence or destiny?

I was asking, was it the bus or the truck who hit which?

For me, whehtehr it is one or 55 people dead, it's the same, lives were lost. Now, if the overloading was the reason for the accident, then maybe, I agree with you!

Yes, flor. It matters if there were less people in the bus. Less would have died.

When a bus exceeds its recommended number of passengers, it also exceeds the number than can be in seat belts and it exceeds its weight limit--reducing maneuverability and placing added strain on tires (greater change of blowouts).

Middle East country and Canada? Wow?

Was it the truck who hit the bus or the other way around? Does it matter if the bus is loaded with lesser number of people? Will it be a different story?

I agree with miss mimi. There is a distinction between accident and criminal negligence and the justice systems need to recognize that this sort of behavior is no accident. Nor is overloading buses beyond their weight capacity or capacity to safely seat everyone.

This isn't an accident, it's criminal negligence. There's a big difference. And you don't get car crashes with 22 people dead and 24 injured in Canada.

My dear Ms Mimi accident is happening unexpectedly.. though full safety measures being implemented in order to minimize it but still happening. Your example in canada is good one but i have seen videos detailing car/ truck fatal accident too.

Conclusion, no country is free of any car/ truck accidents.

sad!

agree with miss Mimi.

55 aboard a 40-seater bus...

definitly a crime. and to be smashed beyond recognition, one wonders at what speed they were driving.

RIP,

major cause of road fatalities is mobile;

still we see people on mobile-talking, SMSing (yes they do)but where is enforcement?

The police have safety awareness campaigns in Qatar all the time which are useless without enforcement.

In a system where someone committs a serious traffice violation and is fined 6000 QR but you can then go to the police and get it reduced to 500 QR is it no wonder people don't take road safety seriously.

condolence to the family of the victim

I would agree.

Many trucks / Buses here are unsafe and the drivers not qualified to drive the heavy vehicles.

Disagree Sense Mine, this would never happen in a country with enforced safety standards and traffic laws.

In Canada the trucks have to pull over into weigh stations every few hundred kilometres in order to ensure that they are properly weighed and safe to travel.

Here they let them out with faulty brakes and overloaded.

Accident (anykind) will happened anywhere, any place & anytime.

May Their Soul Rest In Peace

It's not that it can, it will. Until the governments of the UAE, Qatar, Saudi, Oman, etc, focus on driver safety, accidents like these are inevitable.

I would call it a crime to cram 55 people in a 40 seater bus.

Its really sad, they all must be sole bread winners of the family.I hope the government gives compensation to the families of the deceased.

"Not this many all at once.. Have a heart .."

What kind of comment is that???

Counting/numbers is/are beside the point here. Accidents do happen and this is what matters and yes they do happen DAILY here.

This accident could have well happened here. Fate had it that it happened in the UAE but its aftershocks are felt the most here and should make authorities budge and take some serious action.

Actually BE, I remember during last year's big dust storm coming back from Laffan on the Shamal Road there was carnage including workers busses. It's so common here it barely registers on the news these days.

So far how I have seen, the truck and bus drivers driving even here in qatar I always fear the worse, there should be strict rules for heavy vehicles!

Who cares BE if its one at a time or a whole bus load, it's still dead people. Next someone will say, Qatar is the safest country in the world.

Now who would give blood money to deceased labours' families..22 Bangladeshis, 18 Indians, four Pakistanis and four Egyptians. This being most important now, is missing in the article.

I was saddened to hear this tragic accident. I felt very sorry that their life was cut short.. and hope their family can bear the loss of their love ones..

May they're soul rest in peace..

Not this many all at once.. Have a heart ..

It happens here every day don't be so naive.

This is so tragic. My heart goes out to the familes of these poor souls.

May they rest in peace and may their families find the strength to bear their losses - Amen!

A terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the loved ones and dependents of all those who perished. Truly very sad!