UAE drivers safer than Qatar's

I totally agree i see them on a daily basis as the driving school is not far from our villa , and your right  pay peanuts and you get get monkeys which in turn pass on their pathectic driving habits to these drivers who are taught to believe

this the way you drive ... had an old Arab guy yesterday merging into my lane

without any consideration for me at all he just kept coming ..he must of thought he was on his camel ..difference is camels will bounce off each other ..where cars are made of metal , mmmmmm evolution very slow around here 

we dont have driving instructors in Qatar ... will u get a DI with what they pay as salary no wonder we have all monkeys masquerading as DI

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As i have mentioned before , fancy a driving instructor telling a driver not to stop at a stop sign ,just goes to show what ive always suspected about the driving lessons that are being passed on ,its  no wonder people here drive with pathectic  skills if any at all , ive had to get out of my car one day to physically show this one particular idiot ( and yes whoami) they are IDIOTS ON WHEELS

that the sign said STOP and i was in the right of way , he actually beeped his stupid horn at me , there is no hope here just try to avoid these Richard Craniums thats all you can do unfortunately good luck... 

My friend's daughter went to a driving school here in Qatar.   She already had a license from the states, but since she was under 18 was required to get a new license here.     On the first day she was yelled at by her instructor because she stopped at a stop sign.   The instructor told her she should have just slowed down a little and kept on going.   If these kind of idiots are the ones teaching the driving lessons there is no hope.

"Make a difference or make way"

Thats not all....there are some crazy morons who rent out lamborginis and drive at high speed and go over the humps for fun on jumeirah road where the max speed limit is just 70. Dubai traffic is insane and it has become so bad that u need to hunt for several hours before u can manage to park ur car. Thank god I am in Doha.......but I miss dubai

Here's a little story from my Bahraini friend who lived in Dubai.

He was driving 100 on a main road and had this mercedes tailgate him.

He wasn't able to move because there cars to his right.

So he maintained his speed (the speed limit)

The guy flashed and honked, and before he had any chance to move, the guy actually started to bump his car! My friend swirved out of the way and immediately went to a nearby police station.

The police caught the Emiratee within an hour and was fined and charged.

On a side note, I think that the Dubai taxis are insane, the way that the line's don't seem to exist to them is funny :P

@NC, yes you are right ONLY in Qatar do we have idiot drivers. No where else in the world. You are the wisest of all humans. //ends sarcasm

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Click here for Qatar info

When I arrived here in Doha 4 months ago, I noticed that the drivers doesn't have enough patience.

I don't know whether they are in a hurry because of stomach pain, or are they late for a date, in a meeting or what, but waiting for just a couple of seconds will not matter a lot for the sake of your safety.

only in Qatar do people drive like idiots , no common sense at all constantly beeping their bloody horns , i simply dont bother anymore especially when i have my children in my car ill will simply not put them in danger because of their STUPIDITY and thats all there is to it, tough luck if they in a hurry because you will usually catch up with them at the next set of lights or roundabout  , they don't have the mental capacity to judge things either , like i have said before the people who have taught these reckless drivers have no clue themselves and until somebody teaches you how to do it right the first time this STUPIDITY  will continue , again this morning yet another accident along airport road involving three cars along a straight road , how do they manage this is beyond me ,if this place wants seriously be on the world stage (olympics, sports, etc) they will have problems with any vistors coming here , is this the sort of image people want to take home? ignorance is no excuse , Why dont they have  reward program for drivers ,or better still introduce insurance premuims everytime you have an accident ,tell you what works back home when it starts to hurt the hip pocket you will think a lot more when you go for a drive!  

I never had any problem on the road in my 10 years in GCCs. But these 10 years I spent in other GCC countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Driving in Qatar is a different experience!

I have stories like others: one time at E ring when there was roadworks and only one lane was available, I had one mad man (expat) driving behind me and flashing the headlights and almost hit my car. all cars ahead of me and myself were driving at reasonable speed in that single lane road. The only way to get the hopeless guy pass is to get all other cars fly or to get his car jump, when we get to the two lane road, that driver passed me and came to my lane and slowed down too much for a long distance as if he wants to punish me!

Other story similar to this but with Qatari driver at the round about. That Qatari went creasy when I could not “fly over” the car in front of me to let him pass ( I was governed in the middle lane with cars in front of me)! When passed the roundabout he get very close to my car from the side as if trying to hit my car and made signals to show me that he is ready for physical quarrel.

The third story was with Qatari when I was new to Qatar two years ago, I was driving and suddenly the car in front of me hit the break suddenly. I applied horn and the Qatari driver went after me for almost 2 kM, almost to my home.

I have many other stories of road abuse. This kind of things never happened with me anywhere else. Only in Qatar

You seem to have missed the entire point about tail gating and flashing headlights. Doing that is DANGEROUS it unnerves the driver of the car in front and possibly could cause them to lose their concentration and thus an accident occurs. More so if they are panicked into swerving into another lane because of the incessant flashing from the tail gating vehicle!

This happened to me in the UK once. It was at night and on a motorway I was in the fast lane overtaking a line of traffice when this car shot up behind me flashing his lights at me to get out of the way. It simply wasn't possible for me to safely merge into the centre lane due to the traffice there. Because it was night time, his lights were blinding me in my rear view mirror. I was spitting blood - absolutely furious that he had put me and my family in such danger.

Further down the road, after the incident, I saw his car in a Petrol Station so I pulled in, walked over to his car and tapped on the window. He was a middle aged man driving a Porsche with a young blonde female in the passenger seat. Go figure! (showing off eh?)

Since I was also young and blonde, at that time, he rolled his window down all smiles to ask what I wanted to say. I was in mid-flow of telling him EXACTLY what I had to say when his expression changed and he rolled the window up with some haste and drove off.

Well i think drivers in Rome and Egypt drive worse then the people here.And what i meant was that i never had any problems with Qatari drivers.What i keep reading is that the people in the landcruisers etc want to go faster then the speed limit.So they tail gate/Flash headlights.If you see someone like that in your rear view just merge to the middle or the right.

 Your comment is very telling. If locals don't see a problem then the situation is very depressing indeed and unlikely to change very much.

I don't go to mythical places with strange men.

-- Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

Well i never had any problems with driving here.Then again as a local i may see things differently then a foreigner would.Anyway hope you all stay safe on the roads ^_^.

.. every time another car cuts us up, I look at DDK (driver) and ask what nationality he thinks the other driver is ..... he giggles if I suggest another nationality other than Qatari, cos he KNOWS it wasn't a Qatari, that's why!

Could be sometimes a local, but more often than not it isn't. 

so is there any way to make it better?? so many of the qataris either have wasta, id card,and get off- or have so much money a fine doesn't matter. so how can it improve? it does tend to make one have a very bitter and negative view of the qatari people. and even islam (religion of peace- but not on the roads??) the hypocisy is so frustrating

.. a friend of mine copied a snippet from an e-mail she sent them about her visit here:

"The roads, during the day, are a nightmare - rather

like the  States on a bad day.  I don't blame J and B for opting for a

driver instead of driving themselves.  It seems a much better

solution.  They are both very laid back - perhaps that's the

reason."

She may have something there!  'Laid back' cos we don't have the terror and strain on the nerves of driving ourselves around! ... easier to cling to the driver and scream when HE screams.   :D

You can't teach experience...

Driving here specially on the highways is crazy. People flashing lights, tail gating. Coming from side lane without any indicators. Buses going at 120k

This list is endless but whatever the other drivers do stay calm and cool and if the others are in a hurry to go to hell let them join their brothers/sisters. I have even seen veiled women flashing lights and tail gating and speeding in land cruisers.

it is bad Khaled ... very bad ...

It's not that bad....

is it? :p

Thank God you are safe

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money can buy all the expensive cars, jewels, and toys in the world, but it can’t buy class and civility.

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And reckless driving can buy no respect.  

I lived in Dubai for five years and my husband for seven years but we never encounter mad drivers there! unlike here, everytime we go somewhere i can't wait to get to the place where were going, im too scared with the way of driving here, feels like they are not afraid to die!

Whithanail i had the same experience as you just the other day ( not with the pregnant wife though, i was with my 4 yr old son! )

They are just a complete nutter!

'UAE motorists behave better on the roads than their Qatari counterparts.'

 i have lived in the uae for 13 years and can attest to the correctness of the statement above.

first thing i noticed on the road when i arrived here in doha in 2001 is the horrible way motorists use the roundabouts.

motorists use the outer lanes of roundabouts here to park their vehicles. they dont do it in the uae,it's against the traffic law and for obvious reasons.

motorists here wait for their turn inside the roundabouts instead of waiting from the designated solid line just outside of it.

motorists here tends to speed up on approaching the roundabouts instead of slowing down

filtering lines here(no idea if some motorists here know what im talking about) are treated as a joke. 

i have had far too many road nearmisses (lost count already) here in doha in my 6 years of stay here than in the 13 years of my stay in uae (can count them with my fingers no joke).

bottom line, the uae motorists (dubai in particular)are better trained than their counterparts here in doha

you caught me blue: thats me....cant remember where i parked my car...but how is that dangerous?

how many times when you cross the corniche on the pedestrian crossings do all the cars stop for the red light?

this is terrible..all the time cars zooming across a pedestrian crossing on a red light.

Usually drivers tend to violate the law. If possible. We drive and follow the system prevailing in the country we live. Personally the way I drive in Qatar differs from the way I drive in UAE or Oman or Lebanon. It takes us few minutes to understand the driving system and the extent of discipline applied in the country and abide by it.

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I heard half of locals are in police force and they hold police ID cards, I dont know if they really work or just holding ID cards if that is the case who is policing whom..? even if you a rash driver..?

The Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, which measures self-reported driving style... maybe the qataris were more honest?

The questionnaire has 24 checkboxes that similar to these:

Attempt to drive away from traffic lights in third gear

Become impatient with a slow driver in an outer lane and overtake on the inside

Drive especially close to the car in front as a signal to its driver to go faster or get out of the way

Forget where you left your car in the car park

Underestimate the speed of an oncoming vehicle when overtaking

Attempt to overtake someone you hadn't noticed signalling to turn right

Cross a junction when the lights had already turned red against you

Hit something when reversing you had not seen

Get involved in unofficial races with other drivers

I hate driving in dubai, if you leave >3m between you and the car in front of you, somebody suddenly/immediately takes that space.

If driving in here is bad try Manila, Bangkok, Madras, Colombo...etc...etc....

You will enjoy your drive there :)

let me tell you, after living in many other parts of the world, the driving here is bad.  Most cars speeding down the road WAY over the speed limit around 6-11 pm are the white landcruisers guys.  Thats just the way it is.  I have heard some people tell me (Qataris) that driving is sport to them.  Great, but sport usually involves willing participants, not me and my 9 month son who are constantly put at risk.  Doha has a very high accident rate, from what I've heard one of the highest in the world.  Its not just the Qataris for sure, there are definitely others out there!!!  How about everyone just slow down. 

well guys........i dont think all qataris are recless drivers...i m not qatari....90% expatriates drivers are recless.....all nationalities are coming in this list....its my personal experience, and accidents happens not only coz of drivers...most of pedestrians who are doing the mistakes and we drivers are paying by damaging our cars, going to police, etc etc

one time i was right and one british person driving Jaguar came wrong which force me stop, it was his mistake even then while passing beside me he made a signal to open my eyes while driving.

(even i have big car with big brand name)

 indian guy driving in the fast lane at the speed of 50 where it was 100 and all the cars have to pass from right side coz he was not giving way to anybody....qataris or other drivers r not wrong here.

i see many many pakistanis boys driving reckless just to show off the skills to people for nothing.

(i m pakistani also....but not reckless)

some arab expat guy carring a sports car driving zig zag in fast speed on corniche in busy traffic time.

i see many many drivers while entering roundabouts not respecting lanes...mostly expats.

so i want to request that we should not put all blame on qataris only but to our fellow nationals also who are doing all this.

This is a recurring theme in QL: Qataris in Landcruisers.

The landcruiser has always been a popular car here since we never had (and still don't have) "usuable" roads... The new roads they make have sewerage manholes protruding at least 4cm... All roads have parts that are "being worked on", even if we don't see anybody working.

If I could avoid the traffic by going off-road, I will, that also means less traffic for those on the road :) .

P.S. I'm a Qatari in a white LandCruiser. 

Alona i seriously know how depressing it feels to fail the driving test! i felt the same way coz u make just ONE mistake and you have to take the test again. Thankfully second time was the charm for me so dont give up :)

Where there is Fire...There is Coke. Where there is Rum..There is Smoke - Sir Smoke-a-Lot

Thanks for all the comments that i read today.It helps me on my deppresion on failing in driving exam yesterday, i cant sleep, i cant eat because of this failure,now that ive read all the problems happening in road here.I think its not worth dying to have a license and drive on this country

As for the attitude, that comes with this country. As an expat we have no rights here. No rights to vote or get things our way. This surely ain't my country.

The labour law is archaic - exit visas, restriction on moving from co's, sponsorship laws etc.  

That said we are taking and accepting (no choice) these risks while earning our living in this country. Thats why is say "Just give way" to these guys - keep cool and composed and believe me we'll all have a great day. By honking at these guys and getting run off the road all you'll do is work yourself up and give your wife a lot of tension and stress (surely not required)

Soon Doha will become like Dubai (bumper to bumper traffic). Then you'll have even more traffic problems and even more crazy drivers :-)  - locals and expats - all in a hurry to get somewhere

As for vehicles - only Landcruisers give you that power to defend yourself. Anything else are just "mobile speedbreakers" - DO NOT DARE HONK - least you'll annoy Mr.Landcruiser. Forget the small SUV's.

So just enjoy the awesome weather we have now, make our money while we can and just get the **** outta here....

Have a great day...got lots of work to get completed before the weekend.........

i think the bigger the better here really. cause most accidents here happen at intersections and roundabouts .... i still think its really safe cause of the size

May be you can say , but we heard that the busy roads will make your life miserable in dubai.

Drive a Frod Excursion or F-450 or Dodge RAM and you are safe

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Any driver is safer than Qatar drivers.

i saw something this morning about the H3 - the insurance industry in america ranked it pretty low in safety in crashes.   Jeeps came in bad too.

they didn't mention toyotas.

but the bigger the better i guess, at least here.

maybe it's time to trade in my mazda 3...  problem for me is mrs withnail hates the full size SUV.  it would have to be a RAV4 or that new Nissan Quaqan thing (or whatever it's called).  not sure if a small SUV would make much of a difference.  what do you think? 

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"Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day." Withnail & I

i advise everyone that can buy a hummer to go for it... this is the only way to keep these guys from running you over. if i could buy a monster truck here, i would . trust me... withnail, pls look after your unborn child

, because out here, no one cares until God forbid an accident happens and someone dies. then you see everone stopping and slowing down to sympathise with you ... drive smart out there and God be with everone that drives well and to those of you that still drive recklessly, you shall all get whats coming to you.....time will tell...

The same article was in yesterday's Peninsula:

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&month=February2008&file=Local_News2008022642822.xml

I would draw your attention to this paragraph:

In this study, 1,110 Qataris and 1,286 UAE drivers participated.

Not residents - Qataris.  I'm not a Qatari.  Asians aren't Qatari.  Europeans aren't Qatari.  Qataris are Qataris.  Obviously.

The study does not talk about Qatari Drivers. It talks about Qatar motorists since it is comparing them to UAE motorists

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words of wisdom... 'just give way'.

i know you're right, but i really hate the 'it's not your country' attitude. people like you and me are living here contributing to this country's growth and future, just like the qataris.

i'm grateful to be here at this point in my life, but if you and i and everyone else picked up and left, where would qatar be? nowhere! the gratitude should flow both ways, and based on that we should be respected no more and no less. i know, it's a pipedream.

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"Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day." Withnail & I

Unruly driving is common mostly among the drivers who have been trained here locally, exapt or local. I think it has to a lot with the quality of training available.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape!

Qatar is at least 10 years behind Dubai. I know of people how were there when dubai was being built to what it is today and they will tell there road ettiquette back then is the same as it is here now. so its proberbly safe to say it will be atleast another 10 years before most of the bad drivers in Qatar grow a brain.

I think Iran takes the cake in perfect driving, driving in Tehran is like walking over a trapeze rope lol.

I think Bahrain has the best drivers (comparatively). Ofcourse of late with the influence of all the saudi's, kuwaiti's and qatari's who throng into Bahrain - their habits are rubbing on to the Bahraini's. It is become a curse to drive in Dubai – people cut you off – perfectly understandable because of the crazy traffic out there. I too was run off the road for completely no fault of mine the first time I was in qatar. My only fault was that I honked that guy cause he completely didn’t see my car (small hired car and not a landcruiser) while I was already in the roundabout. That was a year and a half back and I’ve learnt from that. Just give way – it ain’t my country. I had one Qatari friend of mine tell me – these traffic laws are just for the expats. That sums it all. Have you come across a whole bunch of guys stalling traffic with their hazard lights on while one of them do doughnuts on the MAIN roads. Where da cops?

I learnt about tailgating and middle lane left/right turn in qatar!! 

Considering that the Highway Code doesn't exist here and I just wonder if the instructors have any idea about this either, as they certainly don't teach the student to use the indicator nor how to use the zip funtion when the roads go from three lanes to two. So how will a new driver be capable of this kind of thing when they drive their own car. These are just a couple of things I have noticed there are far more mistakes being made by driving school instructors. One thing more if they don't use the indicator themselves how on earth will they teach a student to do it.

I completely agree for that

i was in dubai for 3 years and i came here only 4 months

really the drivers here they don't know any thing regarding for rules

specially at the round about, they think they should change the lane in the round about each one meter

i really want to know if there are schools here to teach driving rules, and if yes why nobody go there

it is ok to do mistake, but it is big mistake to insist to do the same mistake and you know it is mistake

I have spent 6 yrs in Dubai...The road manners in Qatar is very poor as compared to Dubai.

The make and price of the car rules the roads here!

"Many people quit looking for work when they find a job"

you really do need to be on your toes here.i had 2 years of driving in cairo so i think that helped get me sharp behind the wheel.

i think you're right - knowing the police don't do much about this emboldens people.  it's a real shame.  when you look at all the wonderful things they are trying to do here, it halfway gets ruined because of the reputation these savages bring to their country.

i also think canary has a point - it's not only qataris here, although many qataris are terrible (far too many).  although i thought the UAE had a similar percentage of foreign workers so i would imagine that UAEers (?) are not the only jerks driving around on their roads either. 

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"Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day." Withnail & I

UAE motorists behave better on the roads than their Qatari counterparts.

Seems rather general to me.

One bad apple does not make the whole cart bad, and this is just what DG said yesterday not to generalise and make a statement concerning the whol country.

I think the study is geared towards drivers conduct and proficiency

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Watch out when you make these sorts of statements, or else you'll be accused of making racist remarks by certain people.

UAE motorists behave better on the roads than their Qatari counterparts, according to a survey by three medical experts in Qatar.

I used to drive the Dubai/ Al Ain road every day, there is a fair amount of traffic on it plus the extension of the Sheikh Zeyad Road going to Abu Dhabi is well frequented and also have serious accidents such as a recent accident involving 5 cars where all the injured die.

However, the survey may be right, but it is dificult to put UAE against Qataris because there are many other nations here driving and causing horrific accidents too.

This is something we live daily and Thank God you got out safe.

I keep wondering. Where is the Secret Traffic Police and what are they doing? Had there been a couple of instances where such drivers are caught and punished according to the laws, no one will dare to behave like that.

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i

had a Qatari yesterday almost run me and my 9 month pregnant wife off the

road.  he got upset because I didn’t

recklessly drive into a roundabout cutting everyone off, then got stuck behind

me for about 1 block while I was “only” doing 80 kph on a one lane road (the

second lane was shut down for construction). 

When the road opened up to 2 lanes, he came up next to me, cut me off

and slammed on the brakes – luckily I reacted quickly or we would have slammed

into him.  it’s heart-warming to know

that there are people in the world who think nothing of putting unborn children

at risk because not everyone drives fast enough for their liking.  no doubt this tool thinks he’s a good person

because he prays every day.

what

disgusts me more than what happened is that for many there is nothing

wrong with this kind of behaviour on the road.

money

can buy all the expensive cars, jewels, and toys in the world, but it can’t buy

class and civility.

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"Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day." Withnail & I

very good morning.

If you are talking about the road between Jabal Ali, Internet City and Central Dubai area along Sh Zayed Rd, then I agree with you.

But we have to consider also  Emirates road, Dubai/Abu DHabi, Dubai/Hatta, AbuDhabi/Al Ain

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Good Morning,

well that is not to difficult considering that in the UAE most drivers are moving milllimetre for millmetre and in permanent traffic jams, there is no space for real driving there