driving in Qatar
hi Guys, i'm sure this question has been asked a million times but, i am shortlisted for a job in Qatar and both my partner and i are busily researching what to expect. The question is, what is the driving like in Qatar? I understand it can be hectic, but nowhere near as bad as Saudi.
Is it worth buying a car or using taxi's ? I also understand that you can hire a driver and car as required?
what sort of costs are involved if we decided to do that ???
Appreciate your time answering this, but as you would expect there are a million questions to ask...
thanks..
I would only add, buy a new one. Service records are poor to non-existent, and the attitude generally is careless. Unless you can get a handle on the history, beware. You might spend a lot of time at the "Industrial Area", trying to get stuff repaired. Not fun - I know from experience.
Veni, Vici, viva.
Good day & hope you are doing well.
Taxis
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First of all welcome to DOHA. Ignore taxis as you wont feel it comfortable in the long run. Private taxis are a bit ok with the cost but subjected to face problem as you depend on an individual.
Driving
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Regarding driving its a bit difficult to deal with, but it'll be ok if you drive as if the other driver is not a professional and you need to be ready and alert always with care.
Own Cars
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To start a life with a car in doha and that too at reasonable price is as follows.
1. A Car must be above 1.6CC to give you a pushup/pickup in roundabouts
where accidents are common.
2. Must be with Automatic gear, to avoid pains rasing out of manual
gear due to heavy traffic in doha.
3. In order not to spend more on maintenance always go for the
following hierarchy
I. Budget Cars for entry level
. Toyota - Corolla 1.8
. Nissan - Sunny 1.8 or (TIIDA slightly expensive)
. Honda - CIVIC (though city is cheaper than CIVIC its mostly
screwed up cars coming for second hand sales after used by the
rent a car companies)
. Mitsubishi - Lancer (an ok type car but pickup is for sure very low
if CC is less)
II. In you have enough money go for MID SIZE cars (Secondary Stage) the
following hierarchy
. Toyota Camry [Stable and 2.5cc, offers good comfort & high
speed,Low maintenance, but you need to compromise on interior
compared to other brands].
. Nissan ULTIMA [(Stable and 2.5cc, offers good comfort &
style & high speed, very good interiors, low maintenance]
. Honda Accord 2.4, good interiors.
Third if you have surplus money
. Landcruiser, all 4WD etc.,
as well now - a bit weird - there's even a siren on one of the tracks, very fitting.
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"There's this thing called being so open-minded your brains drop out". - Richard Dawkins
Thats a very good suggestion Taliesin, will be getting those songs. I was just about beginning to loose it on the roads, might as well save me :)
But gotta say this, no matter how the driving gets, the good thing is rythm, theres never anything unexpected
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Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
it is better then some, but he will drive here only and he should be ready for surprises on road.
Hey guys its not so bad............
Its much better then some countries
The driving sense here is too bad. you will come to know shortly.
better buy a car rather then hiring taxi or car. most of the taxies here are driven by those who don't know ABC of driving.be careful.
all the best for your qatar endeavour!!!!! faddal
Taliesin is you like Amy Winehouse then you'll absotely love Kate Nash and her new Ablum made of bricks...... some classics for Doha
Especially the tune "poop heid" which i choose to write in its PC spelling........
Safe driving
yes, the standard is bad but you soon get used to it - there's a kind of rhythm to it after a while and you just know what the idiots are going to do - get some good music on - my current favourite Amy Winehouse - lots of foul language - and sing along!
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"There's this thing called being so open-minded your brains drop out". - Richard Dawkins
Yes im sure this question has been asked a miilion times so look through the posts for other responses... but here is my 2 cents worth.
Taxis are generally useless in this country, except private hire ones like Fox. I should really say the public transport netwrok os useless as they run the taxis. Costs going up service going down.
You can get a private hire booking for daily commuter drives, costs all depends on how far you want to go and how often. Can be 25-50 QR for a one way journey, block booking a driver will work out cheaper.
The driving is crap here but you sound learn the best defenisve is ofensive and your adapts. You'll soon predict what the idiots all around you will do to try and ruin your day.