It will take British expats some time to get used to driving in Qatar, a journalist has claimed.
Victoria Scott, a freelance writer who lives and works in Doha, wrote in a special guest blog for the Telegraph that because the Arab state is made up of people from all over the world, it can be difficult for a “driving-consensus” to emerge.
Add to that the ambiguity concerning road layouts – Miss Scott claims that one day a road might be there and the next day it will have vanished – and the widespread practice of using mobile phones in cars, and you can get a picture of how challenging it can be.
“Qatar’s government acknowledges its serious road safety problem, and is trying to do something about it,” she stated.
“There are large fines for speeding, undertaking, jumping red lights and mobile phone use. Enormous roadside posters remind me that a crash test dummy doesn’t have a family to come home to, but I do. Notices posted at junctions tell me how many accidents there were on the roads last year.”
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) observes that the standard of driving in Qatar is generally lower than in the UK. The FCO adds that discipline is poor, speeds are high and minor accidents are common, which British professionals moving overseas need to be conscious of.
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