I see I have fallen behind on keeping ya'll up to date on my Qatari adventures. Since I haven't been out to see anything really cool lately I thought I'd tell you about the CRAZY driving I have witnessed recently.
To watch the drivers in Doha, you'd think there were no rules. If there are rules nobody follows them. On any given drive through the city you can see drivers racing, drifting, even making their own lanes where there weren't any before. And oh the roundabouts! Every major intersection in the city is a roundabout. If you don't know the rules...get someone else to drive!
This brings me to what I witnessed on two different days last week.
Around the middle of the week, all of us early risers at La Palace 5 strolled out and hopped on the 6:30am bus in order to be taken to the college. We were anything but wide awake. Who knew that was soon to change? We pulled off of our street onto the main road, Jawaan St, and merged (very carefully) into what can only be described as bumper to bumper traffic - three lanes deep.
Once comfortably crawling along we all settled in for our 15 minute ride to the college, some of us snoozing, others reading or talking quietly.
Suddenly, from way behind us, we hear lots of insistent, urgent honking. As the seconds tick by, the honking is louder, more insistent, and more urgent.
You might be wondering what ever could be the issue to cause so much racket. Well, when we looked out the the window we saw the cause...a large black Land Cruiser was in between our bus and the vehicle in the next lane. (See...I told you they don't follow road rules)
As the black SUV moved its way further up towards the roundabout, another driver decided he wasn't about to let this happen. The second driver, who was driving a white Land Cruiser (this is one of the most popular vehicles in Doha), pulled out to block the area between the two lanes effectively cutting off the black Land Cruiser.
The driver of the black Land Cruiser was not about to take that sitting down. He jumped out of his truck and ran up to the white vehicle to confront the driver who wronged him. He ran up and banged on the driver's window, wildly pointing back at his vehicle, his stomach and at the hospital across the street.
It turns out his wife was in labour in the black Land Cruiser and he was trying to get her to Hamad Hospital. The second driver apologize and moved his truck. Unfortunately we didn't get an update on the labour.
The second incident happened the very next day. We made it almost all the way to the college without incident. It looked like it was going to be a good morning. That only lasted until we turned onto Arab League St. It is only a short drive from the roundabout to the college and it was during this short part of the drive that we were overtaken by a Camry (another extremely popular car in Doha) who was travelling super fast. Once the car pulled back in front of us, the driver realized that she had missed the entrance to the college that she was aiming for.
What did she do? She slammed on the brakes of course, stopped dead in the middle of the road. In order to avoid a wreck, our bus driver also had to slam on the brakes.
Once stopped, we waited for the other driver to make a U-turn so we could proceed onto the entrance gate that the buses use. She showed no sign of getting out of our way, so the bus driver decided to back up and go around. Well, she took that as a signal to also back up so we couldn't go around. Again...we sat!
One of the gentlemen on our bus decided he'd had enough and ordered the door to be opened. He jumped out and gave the woman what for! And then he came back on the bus to a round of applause and cheers!
This is only 2 of the totally un-Canadian driving instances I have seen since arriving in Doha. It has to be seen to be believed!
Until next time folks...stay safe!
Cheers!
To watch the drivers in Doha, you'd think there were no rules. If there are rules nobody follows them. On any given drive through the city you can see drivers racing, drifting, even making their own lanes where there weren't any before. And oh the roundabouts! Every major intersection in the city is a roundabout. If you don't know the rules...get someone else to drive!
This brings me to what I witnessed on two different days last week.
Around the middle of the week, all of us early risers at La Palace 5 strolled out and hopped on the 6:30am bus in order to be taken to the college. We were anything but wide awake. Who knew that was soon to change? We pulled off of our street onto the main road, Jawaan St, and merged (very carefully) into what can only be described as bumper to bumper traffic - three lanes deep.
Once comfortably crawling along we all settled in for our 15 minute ride to the college, some of us snoozing, others reading or talking quietly.
Suddenly, from way behind us, we hear lots of insistent, urgent honking. As the seconds tick by, the honking is louder, more insistent, and more urgent.
You might be wondering what ever could be the issue to cause so much racket. Well, when we looked out the the window we saw the cause...a large black Land Cruiser was in between our bus and the vehicle in the next lane. (See...I told you they don't follow road rules)
As the black SUV moved its way further up towards the roundabout, another driver decided he wasn't about to let this happen. The second driver, who was driving a white Land Cruiser (this is one of the most popular vehicles in Doha), pulled out to block the area between the two lanes effectively cutting off the black Land Cruiser.
The driver of the black Land Cruiser was not about to take that sitting down. He jumped out of his truck and ran up to the white vehicle to confront the driver who wronged him. He ran up and banged on the driver's window, wildly pointing back at his vehicle, his stomach and at the hospital across the street.
It turns out his wife was in labour in the black Land Cruiser and he was trying to get her to Hamad Hospital. The second driver apologize and moved his truck. Unfortunately we didn't get an update on the labour.
The second incident happened the very next day. We made it almost all the way to the college without incident. It looked like it was going to be a good morning. That only lasted until we turned onto Arab League St. It is only a short drive from the roundabout to the college and it was during this short part of the drive that we were overtaken by a Camry (another extremely popular car in Doha) who was travelling super fast. Once the car pulled back in front of us, the driver realized that she had missed the entrance to the college that she was aiming for.
What did she do? She slammed on the brakes of course, stopped dead in the middle of the road. In order to avoid a wreck, our bus driver also had to slam on the brakes.
Once stopped, we waited for the other driver to make a U-turn so we could proceed onto the entrance gate that the buses use. She showed no sign of getting out of our way, so the bus driver decided to back up and go around. Well, she took that as a signal to also back up so we couldn't go around. Again...we sat!
One of the gentlemen on our bus decided he'd had enough and ordered the door to be opened. He jumped out and gave the woman what for! And then he came back on the bus to a round of applause and cheers!
This is only 2 of the totally un-Canadian driving instances I have seen since arriving in Doha. It has to be seen to be believed!
Until next time folks...stay safe!
Cheers!
