More than a year after the Ministry of Interior asked residents to report motorists who violate traffic laws in Qatar, some individuals still fear that taking photos of rule-breakers could land themselves in legal trouble.
However, a traffic consultant has told Doha News that authorities want to encourage people to help catch dangerous drivers and would intervene to scuttle any legal complaints.
Still, he conceded that some aggressive motorists may try to intimidate individuals who take their pictures.
Amid safety concerns and a large number of complaints about the careless and uncourteous driving habits of some motorists, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) began asking residents to use its Metrash 2 mobile phone app to report rule breakers in late 2013, and launched an awareness campaign last summer.
Users can take pictures of violations that can be proven with a photo – such as passing on the hard shoulder, blocking traffic or using their mobile phone while driving – and forward the evidence to the MOI.
This feature is intended to be used by pedestrians and vehicle passengers only – not drivers behind the wheel.
However, the app almost immediately sparked questions from residents about the practicality of the government asking residents to photograph traffic violations.
Many said they fear they would be breaking a cultural taboo by taking a stranger’s picture – especially if an expat is photographing a Qatari.
“Can you imagine an Indian male taking a photo of a Qatari female and getting away with it?” asked one commentator in June.
“I can just imagine the scenario: See violation – take photo – fix GPS co-ords – report to police.
Turns out that the violator was the wrong kind – lots of wasta – (and) I get arrested for ‘violating his privacy,’” speculated another.
Meanwhile, anecdotes of residents being accosted and finding themselves the subject of a public prosecutor’s probe continue to circulate:
@de_ingeniero @dohanews yeah the do but be careful. Heard of altercation during similar incident.
— Khanan (@alikhanan) February 7, 2015
Others have questioned whether the authorities would act on their complaint:
@dohanews it’s a waste of time, the moi don’t seem to do anything when I’ve uploaded pics to metrash
— Kimd (@kimd186) January 29, 2015
@dohanews once reported about a car who threw trash on road, sent picture to Metrash, I followed the case but No action taken!
— Salman (@de_ingeniero) January 29, 2015
MoI ‘happy to have evidence’
Speaking to Doha News, a local traffic consultant who asked not to be named said it is best to be discreet when taking a photo of a driver breaking the rules of the road to avoid the possibility of conflict.
He said local authorities would not prosecute anyone who uses Metrash 2, adding that MOI officials treat the images it receives using the app the same as photos taken from stationary radar cameras.
“(Other drivers) can give you a hassle, but not legal problems … Once you commit a crime, you don’t have (a right to) privacy,” … This is not Dubai,” he said.
In 2013, a UAE resident was arrested after filming an Emirati beating a south Asian man following a minor traffic collision.
He added that MOI would not tell the violator who took the photo. When asked about the prospect of a police investigation, the traffic consultant suggested that anyone who finds themselves in such a situation go to the traffic department and ask to speak to the head of violations.
He said a phone call from the MOI to the public prosecutor’s office should end the matter.
“(Using Metrash 2) is not against the law,” he said, adding the MOI looks favorably on those who use it to help them improve traffic safety.
“They are so happy to have the evidence.”
Thoughts?
use dashcam / gopro…so it will not appear as invasive of anyone’s privacy
And much much safer. Because taking a picture while you’re driving would actually defeat the purpose of the law.
There was a comment here earlier.
I think it’s a bit irresponsible to encourage people to take pics. I imagine some of those who drive in an aggressive manner and break traffic laws will not hesitate to confront someone taking their pic, which could end badly
Exactly. I don’t believe for a second that we as residents will succeed where so far the police have failed.
If the police can’t/won’t catch these serial offenders, and when they do they aren’t able to enforce any punishment, I don’t think that me taking a little happy snap of someone driving down the hard shoulder is going to make a jot of difference.
Perhaps the end game here is to try to convince residents that the reason the behavior of drivers is so bad is that people who are residents aren’t trying hard enough to catch them.
I tried to upload photos in Metrash 2 and it doesn’t even work 🙁 What a bummer!
An app that doesn’t work, substituting for police that don’t work, in a legal system that doesn’t work. What exactly did you expect? “Amazing”?
I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt so I tiried the apps and even called the traffic department…..Yes! I got exactly what I expected “Amazingly” inutile….Lip service as usual 🙁
“what exactly did you expect…” you are in Qatar!
Dohanews, Maybe this would be an interesting follow-up story. Why does the app work in such a limited function? Also, why are citizens and residents being asked to carry out the job of law enforcement?
Are you surprised?
Of course not! I just thought I could give them the benefit of the doubt to prove me wrong that they are “amazingly” inutile 🙂
I once used the app to report 2 violations in a day. when i saw a third one and wanted to report it I could not login in to the app. The app kept saying that I was “Not authorized to use this service” for a week. I then heard that you can’t report more than one violation through the app in a day. anyway after a week I was able to login and was able to use the app as usual.
I then, out of curiosity, tried again and again i was kicked out of the system for a week (this was after 4-5 months). that day, sitting in traffic, i saw more than 15 violations all done by middle eastern guys and one woman.
has anyone else had this problem?
Please do correct me if i heard wrong or maybe its a system glitch. The app itself is slow and sometimes when you want to report it never logs in.
this itself beats the whole purpose of the app!!!
In Qatar every nationality is a violator nothing to do with “Middle Easterns”
@Ali:disqus maybe i should have stopped & got down from my vehicle and asked those guys which nationality they were ?
I know that people of all nationalities violate rules. But on that day and at that time I saw only Middle Eastern guys! why i say middle eastern guys you ask??? because they were wearing thob and the woman was wearing an abaya. hence specifically typed it!
yesterday i saw an asian guy [bengali/indian/pakistani/srilankan… i don’t know who but he looked like one of these to me] in a pickup driving recklessly. two weeks back i saw a european/american lady driving, as if it was the end of the world, while talking on the phone and drinking coffee.
so i’m just saying what i saw that day.
Watch out for crazy women drivers in Land Rover Discovery, guess where they’re from !
Well there are many Pakistani/Indian/Bangali people who wear thobes and abayas. Anyway people need to stop driving like retards and people need to stop generalizing and slow drivers need to get out of the fast track because that’s bad driving too.
@Ali again…you are saying i should have stopped & got down from my vehicle and asked those guys which nationality they were?
Well it’s either that or don’t make accusations that are not legit.
@Ali Ok they seemed like middle eastern guys to me. Happy!!!
and finished i’m off…i have better things to do than trying to prove what is saw!!!
@Ali my dear friend do you know whether these people who i saw are middle eastern or from one of the asian countries???? i just said what i saw. these people were wearing a thob so i said they were from one of the middle eastern countries.
i’m from one of the asian countries but the number of people who have come forward and talked to me in Arabic are many. and they have told me sorry i thought you were an Arab. not only me but there will be plenty of others who have assumed just like that and approached other people.
Now i can’t tell/ask these people on what basis they thought i was an Arab and approached me for asking something. can I?
I assume you are from one of the Middle Eastern Countries (Sorry if you are not…guess i assumed too much but just for an example). tomorrow if i come and ask you for directions, in Urdu/hindi/tamil or any one of the asian languages, would you start accusing me on why i assumed you were from one of the Asain countries?
Are you surprised about the way these things work in Qatar? You shouldn’t be.
Actually i’m not surprised. not at all!!!
“This is not Dubai.” …throwing shade!
Ok so if I use a dash cam will they accept it?! I am more than happy to set up one in my car and take the footage every now and then to the police department. I know this means a lot of work for them viewing videos and collecting number plates of offenders but it is easier and safer for me also. Moreover, a video is a better proof than a still picture.
MOI requires photos taken only through Metrash 2 app. Dashcam proof is no good proof.
Also, I know of an incident when the authorities from the concerned ministry walked into a retail showroom advertising dashcams, to warn them that sale of this device is banned in Qatar !!
Here you are. & u’re welcome.
http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/377533/dash-cam-footage-%E2%80%98admissible-in-accident-probes%E2%80%99
That sounds good. I am now thinking seriously of getting one. I hope their prices are reasonable.
I have and use a GoPro. HD images and I get people all the time doing mad stuff. Perhaps I should submit.
Go Pro is expensive. I don’t feel like spending a thousand riyals for a dash cam. Anything with a price tag under 500 riyals that accepts sd card to register the videos is fine for me 🙂
But yes, I think you should submit yours, or at least the ones where you are a victim of road rage or some reckless manoeuvers.
We’ve been told “unofficially” that dash cam footage is welcome.
I volunteer for dash-cam, and it is the best solution.
Once I go with the dashcam footage to the authorities, will I be taken to task for installing this device in my car? There is no “official” consent from them anyway. I am waiting for that day when the rules are clear to everyone.
Well that sounds great. It would even be better if police cars themselves are fitted with dash cams. That would help them catch many offenders easily.
Well I take pictures of the violators when the traffic light is red or if someone is double parked or they are blocking the road and send them on Metrash 2 app. Most of the people that break law are on the traffic lights trying to overtake from the right. While driving it is difficult to concentrate on the road and take pics at the same time, plus the motorist ahead of us drives away.
“Indian taking photo of a Qatari woman”? most Qatari women have fully tinted cars which are suppose to be illegal as well as people I know got fined for fully tinted cars. Secondly what kind of absurd and racist comment is that? Indians have nothing better to do? lol
Anyways I think its a good idea that Metrash 2 allows this, but people have to be responsible as well while driving.
Remember “Don’t drink and drive, you might spill it”
In Australia police use unmarked motorcycles with a camera attached to their helmets to catch people using mobile phone whilst driving. All they do is ride around the city and catch offenders in the act. The police will then simply send them a fine after videoing their registration number. You cannot argue with video evidence. Qatari police could use the same method with unmarked motorcycles and cars with dash-cams.
In Australia every one is trying to give you a ticket.
Every time that I got a ticket for a traffic violation I deserved it. I hate it but I understand that I done the wrong thing.
Very true
As I was quoted in the main article here, I still stand behind my cynicism:
From DN’s report above –
“Speaking to Doha News, a local traffic consultant who asked not to be named said it is best to be discreet when taking a photo of a driver breaking the rules of the road to avoid the possibility of conflict”
Clearly, the ‘consultant’ is not sufficiently confident enough in his ‘assurance’ to be prepared to be named?
For “discreet” read – Asian violator, go for it – Qatari violator, how do you like prison food?
The consultant asked not to be named because only certain traffic officials are cleared to speak to the media.
Is there any particular reason why the traffic officials who are cleared to speak to the media are unwilling to speak to the media?
Exactly!
Just like ‘Salik’ in Dubai, if police can introduce automated cams in ‘undesignated’ areas and keeps rotating throughout Qatar, most of the problem in relation to bad driving habits can be curbed up to a certain extent. Almost all of these stationary cameras in place is well known by regular commuters, (specifically those kept under passes :-), and all are very keen/happy to obey the speed limit within the ‘specific perimeter’. Again, photographing the violation by any individual whether expat or native can be mistreated and bound to have misunderstanding perceptions in individual privacy, which I think shouldn’t be encouraged.
It may sound like a good idea and when there are so many violators out there breaking rules,someone probably thought it would help.Thinking about the obvious and having the police do the enforcing might be better.
In the space of 5 minutes I had two uniformed police in private cars tail gating me, flashing and gesturing for me to move out of the way even though I am driving slightly over the speed limit. Its a joke that the people “enforcing” the rules don’t even follow them.
“Do as I say, don’t do as I do” … Very common in this part of the world.
Wrong. Police cars all over the world have priority on the road. You both are terribly misinformed.
Thanks for enlighten us. You are right: Police cars. But “Camel racer” referred “uniformed police in private cars”. Read first, write after. Good day.
No offence meant. Let me relate a dramatic story here. I once turned left from a straight going lane in Old Salata area in Doha in 2012, effectively cutting off and overtaking a LandCruiser. I kept driving at limit speed along the cornice towards the Sheraton. I was heading to my work at West Bay on a Saturday. Unbeknownst, the Landcruiser had followed me all the way and after the R/A near Commercial Bank Tower, the front passenger lowered his window and began gesturing me as if telling me something. I instantly remembered having cut into his lane several minutes ago and was little frightened. About 300mts before Sheraton R/A, a police car began driving alongside me and asked me to pull over and I did. From what transpired, I deduced myself that the Landcruiser had been coordinating with this police car and reported my offence to them. This police car then waited for me to arrive at their location for intercepting me. A tall, dark man and the driver came to me from the Landcruiser and began explaining the uniformed officers about what I had done earlier. The officers asked me if I knew who the tall man was. I replied in the negative. The officers then told me he is their boss! They did hand me a yellow ticket. I apologized to all of them and left the scene. The ticket never realized into a violation fine. Looked like the officers forgave me. Enjoy and drive safe!
You were lucky I guess…
I have a dash cam with GPS coordinates/time and have daily videos of the traffic in front of me when I drive. Last time when a big truck hit me intentionally, I had a big argument with the police and ultimately I lost. After that incident I bought this cam to prove myself next time in such an event. If I present the daily videos to the police then in a day they may need to fine a minimum of 5 drivers (in my 1 hr journey on Shamal Road) especially those big buses of Karwa and construction firms, tankers of Waqood and sewage collection, heavy/medium trucks, small and medium pickups, mini buses etc. Commercial vehicles should not be allowed on the fast lane on highways in order to reduce the traffic accidents.
Waste of time for enforcement but may be useful for insurance.
If you can do it safely you should because I’m sick of the traffic violations here. 80% of the population are from the Indian sub-continent where the driving is the worst in the world. They come to work here and think it’s ok to drive like they are in India. It’s made worse because the Qataris set a bad example. In Oman the driving is much better because the Omanis set a better example and insist on better driving standards (no doubt this will irk the locals reading this).
I don’t know which part of India you’ve been to, but having been there twice my experience is that the driving there is safer than here as there is a shared understanding of the rules, a kind of quiet chaos … but then again visiting somewhere that has safer roads and better behaved drivers than Qatar is not difficult
Delhi where driving licences can be bought without taking a driving test because there are literally too many people to process (it’s officially accepted). I didn’t say they were dangerous, just BAD drivers. I see the same driving here: no indicating, no looking left or right or behind, switching lanes without looking, drifting from one lane to another for no reason, always being in the wrong lane at a roundabout, squeezing 3 cars across a 2 lane road, swerving across 3 lanes of traffic at the last moment to make a right turn, hooting for no reason, blocking junctions with the yellow hashed markings because “the light was green”. This might be normal in India but it needs to be eliminated here.
India safe? Well… Considering safe not to exceed 70 km/h…Maybe. No respect for others, no rules, no consideration. Indeed they are not terribly dangerous. Simply as Marco Polo said terrible drivers with no concept of collective and even less of integration. I go there too… Twice… A month.
That is true. I learnt driving in Oman and it is light years ahead especially using roundabouts. I have heard from friends who are learning driving now in Qatar that crossing lanes inside the roundabout while exiting it is ok!! I think that defeats the purpose of a roundabout.
How does one exit the R/A without crossing lanes?
When you are on the inner lane in a R/A, you should exit into the inner lane. If you do otherwise, you are cutting off the car in the outer lane.
Problem a lot of the time is they’ll have a 3 lane round about enter into 2 lanes of road. Inner lane guy goes for the fast lane and cuts everyone off. People just don’t use sense is the problem. Apparently no thinking allowed on the roads here.
You are right. When there is a 3 lane R/A and a 2 lane road, there is chaos. But, the inner lane guy is right in exiting into the fast lane. The 2nd and 3rd lane lane ppl have to squeeze into the outer lane. Example: the R/A at the Messaimeer Immig. Office.
And what happens a lot even when there are 3 and 3 is the inner lane guy still cuts into the middle lane. then gets all indignant if you blow the horn to let him know he’s about to ram into you. That’s one thing I find hilarious, albeit dangerous, here. The Qataris get all up in arms if you blow the horn to let them know that they’re about to run into you. You’d think I’d flipped them the bird.
Ha ha , I stopped honking at R/As when I realized that everyone was exiting wrongly. I still stubbornly/righteously do the right thing. Oh, and are long/large vehicles allowed to use the outer lane to go left? I have spent minutes waiting behind trucks to enter a R/A to turn right only to find out that he was waiting to enter and go left!!!
Had that happen this morning. Almost ended up with a very large truck in my passenger seat.
It doesn’t show the Qatari optional route which is straight over the middle! Seriously, drivers in Doha don’t have the discipline to cope with roundabouts. The new junctions being installed are making a big improvement. Please remove ALL roundabouts from Doha!
here you go
You can actually do that provided you can see all exits of the R/A in plain sight. This is possible only at small roundabouts with one or two lanes.
I may be splitting hairs here but if one is in the inner lane then lanes must be crossed to exit. What is important is when the lanes are crossed. What gets me are the idiots who go the full way around in the middle or outer lanes. The gov should let us drive into these people on purpose.
You are right actually, but it is the point where you exit which matters)into the inner lane from the inner lane). If you are exiting into the outer, it is like you are drifting across lanes. Full way round in the middle and outer…ha ha. The sad part is I’ve seen driving school cars do the incorrect exiting thing.
You don’t cross a lane immediately before the exit. That’s why there are different lanes.
Although there are rules to follow at a roundabout, it is also when you follow those rules hard and fast that you cause a collision. I have seen hundreds of stupid accidents all over Doha at roundabouts in the morning hours that could have been avoided but the drivers just blindly followed their “right of way” and crashed into one another. I saved myself from several inevitable collisions inside roundabouts due to observing rules intelligently.
There are certain tricks to use at roundabouts to avoid accidents and inconvenience to others while not cutting into anyone’s lanes. Not just that. It also helps avoid collisions, should a driver make a mistake. Whatever the rules may say, a mistake of a driver shouldn’t necessarily cause a crash. No matter what lane you are in inside a R/A, keep an eye on and yield to the cars ahead of you on all lanes…..drive slower than them. If no cars are ahead of you on any lane, maintain speed and exit the R/A quickly from any lane you desire. It is easier for you to watch cars ahead of you than those in mirrors. This allowed me to exit R/A quickly from any lane. Numerous times, I had to circle a R/A twice to avoid a collision. If I’d use my “right of way” I’d drive ahead and crash into the other car that probably fumbled. I exactly know what I am talking about.
You are right about assuming other drivers will not follow rules. ” If no cars are ahead of you on any lane, maintain speed and exit the R/A quickly from any lane you desire” Doing this in the inner lane will cut off the driver in the outer lane. He is going to brake hard, the driver behind him will too.
If all drivers are skillful to the same level, no crashes will ever happen. Once I saved myself from a bad crash in a R/A, thanks to ABS (Antilock Brakes) on my Mercedes. I was in the innermost lane going straight and another car from the outmost lane crossed me for left!. Like I said before, a mistake from another driver doesn’t always have to result in a crash. I braked hard and swerved left, avoiding a crash by a feet. I circled the R/A and took my exit. Handling capabilities of cars matter a lot too. However, handling capabilities of cars are seldom discussed during accidents and crashes.
Please do not generalise. Every country represented in Qatar has bad apples.
You should check with the MOI how much, in percentage terms, Indians contribute to the violation fines kitty
I have lived in oman since my childhood…i relocated to Doha two months ago and i find the roads and the driving here very insane and rash..Oman is a million times better when it comes to standard of roads, standard of driving and standard of drivers!!!!
If Oman sees a surge in population like that of Qatar and the UAE, all drivers will turn insane in no time.
I doubt that because the point of failure in Qatar is the driving school! They teach them the wrong rules. Secondly, Oman has an awesome road network with roads designed with standards equivalent to the newer roads in Doha(the Doha Expressway, F ring road, etc).
I don’t believe it is the peoples’ job to report daily violations to the police … the Traffic Police department is there for a reason, and this is not to regulate roundabouts which work perfectly fine if they are not there … why can’t they recruit more of the young Qataris for the Traffic Police, put them in unmarked cars or motorcycles, and let them photograph and/or videotape all the traffic violations that happen … Telling the residents to take pictures in “a discreet way” somehow gives me the feeling that it is not fully legal – and truth to be told I would be mad if someone I don’t know takes a picture or video of me for whatever reason …
To help tackle speeding: ditch the static cameras and install ‘average speed’ cameras.
To tackle bad driving: better regulation and education of the rules of the road in Qatar – too many cross-nationalities bringing their written – and unwritten – rules to this country. I don’t know how many nationalities, but when it comes to roundabouts, signals, junctions, everyone brings their own countries little unwritten rules to the road.
And sorry, but just because this is Qatar, i don’t believe that Qatari’s know the rules of the road, or if they do then shame on them for clearly flouting them.
The police could drive up and down Salwa Rd. with a video camera and catch all the violators they want. Speeders, tailgaters, passing in the right hand lanes, cutting from the left lane all the way to the right lane to exit… I could go on and on.
Let’s just say I take a picture of a lady fully covered while driving and talking on the phone. Assuming I did not capture the vehicle license plate, how will they determine who that person is?
They won’t. YOU might get in trouble for taking a picture of a Qatari lady without asking her permission!!
$(@* this: the answer to all our road safety problems, is to fine little brown men for not wearing helmets whilst cycling!
Problem solved!!
I use a dashcam in UAE and it is legal here. I feel it is so in Qatar too. With a dashcam, you don’t have to “take” any pictures, you simply screenshot the violation or send a small clip of the violation to Metrash 2 and that’s it. It also doesn’t take away your attention from the road.
haha…true!!
In general, what the MOI asks people to do is the same that Hitler asked the Germans to do. ”Denounce whoever you can”. I guess it’s a dictator’s favorite tool to control the people.