This is what has to change. Where is the jail term??
This article appeared in today's Gulf Times.
It sickens me that blood money gets you out of everything here.
To have made a 30 metre skid the vehicle must have been travelling at excessive speed. Why wasn't the "convict" jailed, license removed and manslaughter charges laid against him?? 2000 QR fine .... come on!!
Blood money should also be paid ASWELL as any other penalties, not in lieu of.
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Motorist convicted of reckless driving
A DOHA court has convicted a Qatari motorist of reckless driving that led to the death of a Pakistani pedestrian (55) last year.
The convict was fined QR 2,000 and ordered to pay QR150,000 as blood money to the family of the victim.
The accident took place on the street between the Jaidah and Mannai roundabouts on October 5, 2005. The victim died on the spot leaving behind a wife and seven children - five daughters and two sons.
The Traffic Police report said there was a 30-metre brake mark on the street. The blood money is to be paid, jointly by the accused and his insurance company, the court said.
The judgement was given by a panel of judges presided over by Salah al-Sharif.
The other judges were Dr Osama al-Shinawi and Ibrahim al-Kholeifi.
But this is true. Most dangerous drivers are bus and truck drivers. 99% of them are pakindians. Even 50% of infamous landcruisers are driven by pakindian drivers. Never had a single problem with Qataris. Of course there are always 1-2 "kings of the asphalt" but which country doesn't have them?
This is not guilt of pakindians, this is their problem. What driving culture they will have if they have none in their home countries.
I was talking to a Qatari at work and he was complaining about the driving here. He got his degree from the UK so he was comparing how in the UK the driving is more civilised and people follow the rules of the road. I was really impressed with the fact that he acknowledged the fact that Qataris were such bad, disrespectful drivers...until he ended with blaming all the bad driving on the Patans and Indians. I started laughing and couldn't let him be taken seriously.
Skillful drivers, my foot. They have nothing better to do except waste precious time on the roads; especially the youth. These are the years of their lives when they should be acquiring other better, useful skills than driving recklessly and scaring the sh*t out of people. They behave in the same manner in public places such as supermarkets, hospitals, etc. It's always the "I FIRST" or "THIS IS MY COUNTRY" attitude that they portray; but alas! what can we do???
Please do not use the word driving with what we see everyday on the roads here.
Driving schools are set up here, however the instructors from what I have seen are either pakistani or indian, have you ever been to these countries where the roads are crowded and bad judgement maneouvres are made.
However, we cannot judge the incoming flood of new lunatics behind the wheel by these standards as everyone picks up their own bad habits after years of driving (I know I have).
As for Arabs being skillful drivers, er NOPE, my father was resident in this beloved dust bowl over 20 years ago, he was hit from behind by a drunk Qatari (sorry but it was confirmed he was drunk and was a QATARI) and my father was subsequently put in jail overnight and then had to pay for the damage to both cars.
This statement may be slightly politically incorrect however, how can a nation and surrounding nations be such skillful drivers if they have only had cars etc for about 40 years (maximum), or did camels have steering wheels??
Being an avid fan of Moto GP and attending the past few years at the Losail circuit events the difference between the local team and the pro riders (even the 125 class) is hugely different, the skill is just NOT there!
As for kids hanging out of windows, sun roofs, sat on plastic chairs in the boot of 4x4's to me shows a lack of love for their siblings, in an accident the first thing to break the glass of the car will be the children flying through it, terrible thought but oh so true!
You're born, you take s**t. You get out in the world, you take more s**t. You climb a little higher, you take less s**t. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what s**t even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake son.
Having driven race cars and being around Formula and endurance racing for many years, I have yet to see anyone in Qatar with the skills OR the good sense to drive a race car. These drivers are idiots, they just are not intelligent enough to know it.
if some one is a skillful driver, does this gives him the right to drive recklessly? It is reckless behaviour that gets others into trouble trying to avoid them
Finding skillful drivers in Doha is a extinct breed of men and woman, We are already overwhelmed by the unskillful aliens and their formalities.
How many arabs drive F1, Grand Prix, Le Mans, NASCAR, Indy car, Moto GP, Superbike? you get my point, they cannot drive worth a sh*t as a general group. Rules and laws are meant to followed, indicators were invented for a reason, and high beams are for greater visibility not "get out of my way".
Who can take a guy in a pink shirt seriously?
why the standard of driving was so bad here. One of them, a Qatari told me in all seriousness that it was because of different levels of ability. He explained that Arabs are very skilled drivers, its in their genes and that is why they drive fast and cut in at the last second. It is okay for them to drive like this because they have the skill to control powerful cars. The problem, he believes is with the Indians, Pakistanis etc. He believes that they try and copy the Arabs but lack the skill and therefore cause all the accidents. I thought he was joking but another friend of mine, an Egyptian agreed and said he felt exactly the same way. It isn't racist he explained, its just that some races are better at things than others. The Chinese he said, are good at maths and the Arabs are great drivers.
When I asked why so many Arabs drive about with little children on their laps or roaming unsecured around the car, or hanging their heads out of the window, he gave the same reply. Its because Arabs are very skilful drivers and therefore the children are safe.
Has anyone else heard this response or are my friends just loonies. Ahmed44, BBK you guys must have views on this. Buses with seatbelts, BBK? Nothing sad about that.