Yesterday's post was about timing, which carries over into today's topic. Unfortunately, someone's timing was a bit off yesterday. No, this didn't happen during the iftar rush, it was late yesterday morning when traffic was practically null and void. It's not an unusual occurrence, as traffic accidents are one of the leading, if not the leading, causes of death here. This particular accident occurred on the road that we live on just two roundabouts down. Hopefully the driver had on his seat belt, but that would probably be against the odds in Qatar, even though it is the law of the land. 
Read what the U.S. Department of State has to say about driving in Qatar..."Traffic accidents are among Qatar’s leading causes of death. Safety regulations in Qatar are improving, thanks to a more stringent traffic law adopted in October 2007 and a country-wide traffic safety campaign. However, informal rules of the road and the combination of local and third-country-national driving customs often prove frustrating for first-time drivers in Qatar. The combination of Qatar’s extensive use of roundabouts, many road construction projects and the high speeds at which drivers may travel can prove challenging. The rate of automobile accidents due to driver error and excessive speed is declining but remains higher than in the United States. In rural areas, poor lighting, wandering camels and un-shouldered roads present other hazards." ...click to read more
Buckle up and be careful, folks!
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Your post title 'Drive right, Stay alive' made me laugh and reminded me of two signs which were by the roadside when I lived there in the 1980s. They were 'Drive Slow and Reach Safe' and 'Fatal Accidents Cause Death'. They also had a crashed car mounted on a plinth next to a roundabout to remind us what would happen if we didn't drive carefully. How many accidents were caused by drivers stopping to look at it??
ReplyDelete"Fatal Accidents Cause Death"...wow, very prophetic! Sorry I missed a pic of that sign :) They don't have to prop up crashed cars these days. They are randomly scattered as accidents are at prolific numbers. If you haven't been here since the '80s, I think you would be dumbfounded at the progress Qatar has made!
ReplyDeleteSeeing a photo of the Corniche recently, with the Sheraton hotel dwarfed by all the other high rise buildings, and all the general development around it, was a bit of an eye opener. When I lived there, the Sheraton stood out as being one of the tallest structures and was quite a distance from any other buildings.
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