Road rage incidents on the rise as motorists lose their cool

MANY drivers in Qatar display a lack of regard for the law and contempt to other motorists on the road, a cross-section of the public has said.

They said they are pinning their hopes on the new traffic law issued on August 7, which is to be enforced on October 2 to see a substantial improvement in the current situation. The new law stipulates punishments like heavy fines and imprisonment for a number of traffic rule violations.

Though the Traffic Department organises year-round awareness campaigns on road safety and traffic issues, the efforts have failed to produce the desired results as a number of drivers are seen flouting rules and sometimes even driving dangerously, they said.

A Western expatriate working for a major oil company wrote to Gulf Times saying how he was made a victim of road rage while driving from Al Khor to Doha recently.

According to him, he was tailgated by a lady driving an SUV who often brought her vehicle dangerously close to him. “She started flashing the headlights and after some time swerved violently to the right lane, overtaking me. She threw a water bottle which narrowly missed my vehicle. There were children who were not properly buckled in her car”.

After he ended up stopping behind the same vehicle at a traffic signal, “The lady exited the vehicle and came to me shouting. She also said something about finding a huge fine the next day on my vehicle”.

Motorists gave some of the common bad practices on Qatar’s roads as tailgating to pressurise the driver ahead to go faster or get out of the way; flashing lights in order to signal the vehicle in front to move to another lane; obscene and angry gesturing; changing lanes without signalling; blasting the horn; frequent lane changing by weaving a back and forth motion; racing to beat a signal that is about to turn red; sudden slowing down in front of a vehicle after overtaking it from the right as a means of “punishment” and driving with high beam on in the city areas.

Some of them said many people driving heavy 4WDs have scant regard for motorists in small cars. “I wonder why people use such large vehicles to move around in a small city like Doha,” said one of the surveyed motorists, who felt the number of “intolerant and dangerous” drivers is on the rise in Qatar.

An expatriate executive from south Asia voiced similar opinion, saying he has been frequently intimidated by drivers who showed their impatience and arrogance by flashing lights and tailgating. “They think they have a birthright to be arrogant and impatient. Most of these drivers are young men who drive around aimlessly in the city. If you do not cave in to their demands, they may prove to be nasty”.

Another motorist, who travels extensively as a marketing executive said: “I do not believe in changing lanes in a traffic jam, but recently, after being stuck for 35 minutes, I tried to move to the right lane but was frustrated by another motorist who even screamed something at me about my nationality”.

Dr Aamir Younis, who works for the Hamad Hospital said road rage can be the symptom of a mental condition or behaviour disorder.

“With rising consumerism, affluence and fast changing lifestyle, the good old values of courtesy and show of civility, have given way to impatience and arrogance. Also the rising number of vehicles and the traffic snarls during peak hours make people behind wheels lose control,” Dr Younis said.