Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

A friend of mine from Saudi who’s in constant communication with me has always been generous in giving praises whenever I tell her that I drive here in Doha. She’s simply amazed that I am actually driving here already. Then she tells me about someone they know who’s just new driving in Saudi, how that person is so scared to drive. I tell my friend that I too am a bit scared but I had to brave if I want to be able to drive. I just try my best to drive safely and pray a lot especially before I start driving. I also start telling her that their friend has a valid reason to be terrified when driving in Saudi. Having lived there for 4 years, I can attest that it is indeed a scary thing to be on the road when in Saudi. It’s like 80% of the time you’re likely to get into an accident, not because of your own doing but because of the numerous reckless drivers that lurk in the streets of Saudi. My husband was in an accident once. It wasn’t his fault but when it gets down to the police report, he turned out to be the bad guy. And why not, the police who didn’t speak any English simply took the side of the other party who happened to be a Saudi. Thank God we had insurance or we were forced to pay 12,000 Riyals for the damages when it was our car that was badly damaged. It’s really crazy back there. Drivers here in Qatar pale in comparison to Saudi drivers when it comes to recklessness. I’d say that 7 out of 10 drivers are bad ones whereas here, that would be 3 out of 10. It’s not everyday that you meet bad drivers on the road here and I hope God will keep us safe from them. Even if I could drive in Saudi when I was there, I would rather not. Drivers in Bahrain on the other hand are mostly good ones and they value road courtesy. But when you see someone recklessly driving on the streets of Manama especially on a weekend, you’re almost 100% sure that the driver is not from Bahrain but from Saudi. Having said this, I guess, it is quite normal to be very scared when driving in Saudi. I can’t blame anyone who feels that way either.


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