In response to a rising number of complaints about parking obstructions, Qatar’s traffic department has announced that it will crack down on the practice by towing vehicles belonging to motorists who park illegally.
QNA quotes Lt. Col. Mohammed Radhi Al Hajri, Director of Media and Traffic Awareness, as saying:
“Motorists who block the path of other vehicles should realize that people in other vehicles may be facing emergency situations such as medical emergency and others.
Such irresponsible behavior and attitude cause a waste of time and unnecessary delays for fellow motorists.”
Violations that could result in fines and the towing of one’s vehicle include parking behind/beside already parked cars in front of government and non-government buildings, at the gates of large warehouses and the entrances to private homes.
These actions have long been illegal, but not very strongly enforced, as Qatar has an ongoing parking crunch problem.
https://twitter.com/abuimad/status/384228595045900288
@dohanews how about creating more parking spaces for people! I mean, we are basically left with no choice but to park wherever it's free.
— Sarah Rabbani (@SarahRabbani) August 24, 2014
https://twitter.com/aalkhulaifi62/status/503502076018565120
QNA states that Article 78 of Law No. 5 of 2010 prohibits motorists from parking their vehicles in unauthorized places, or in a way that may create an obstacle or hindrance for other cars.
Article 81 of the same law gives the traffic department the authority to tow the cars and recover transportation costs and applicable fines from violators.
The fee for parking illegally was not specified, but according to a list of traffic violations posted by MOI, parking-related citations carry a QR300 fine and three points on one’s driving record.
Tow trucks are a rare site on Qatar’s roads, but authorities have recently said they plan to step up their use of them. In June, police threatened to impound the vehicles of motorists who repeatedly illegally pass cars on the right or park in spots reserved for those with disabilities.
A month later, traffic department officials said that some 100 vehicles had been seized daily for illegally overtaking others on the road – which comes out to roughly 3,000 vehicles a month.
Thoughts?
So a tow truck business could actually become a good business.
Nope, remember your 51% Qatar Partner will still eat into your profit.
eat…hahahah I get it…
And you may tow his LC by accident.
Build some friggin multi story car parks in this country for once and these parking issues would be resolved!!!
Great idea and works elsewhere but…..given the laziness of people here a multi level car park would hardly be used. Example Royal Plaza Al Sadd everyone blocks the front and back roads whilst the underground car park is empty. Same as Wathnham Mall the ground level car park is a disaster zone whilst the basement car park is empty. Outside Doha British School its a traffic Jam with minor accidents at the entrances, whilst only 50 metres away car parks remain empty….bottom line is people of all origin are too lazy, think they are far too important and better then everyone else and refuse to walk.
Dead right. A lack of available parking is only a small part of the problem. Large numbers of people in this country simply will not walk more than a few steps from their car to their destination. They don’t think twice about parking other people in because deep down, they don’t give two hoots about people. They are lazy and selfish, and it’s about time the police stopped letting people get away with this sort of behavior.
I cannot fathom why, in this country, the police are scared of the community, whereas it ought to be the other way around. Why do the police let themselves be bullied by a small few who refuse to be disciplined? When did the police decide they are subhuman, and not empowered to enforce the law?
Because they are not empowered to enforce the law. Most are not Qatari and if they upset a local they will be deported like the rest of us, but unlike some of us (not all by a long shot), they can not afford to be deported because their country of origin has limited employment prospects. Absolute power corrupts my man.
Well my car was blocked twice today when I went to renew my insurance. It weren’t cars driven by Qataris, one was a beat up nissan sunny, the other time it was by an old toyota pick up, so why was the law not enforced against these guys? (who weren’t the only ones blocking cars there).
To be fair, the pavements are often not conducive to safe walking ,with uneven surfaces and littered with ground level and elevated hazards, that’s if they exist at all of course.
They are also not shaded so rather hot for half the year.
Citizens should never be afraid of the police!
“These actions have long been illegal but not strongly enforced” Yep goes for most traffic laws and the result is the carnage death and maiming seen day in day out on Doha roads….
Once I parked outside a shop on Furusiya Street at about 9.30am. The shops are 3 km long with parking everywhere. When I came out of the shop at about 10am, a LC was parked across the back of me. There was parking everywhere around me. When I found the gentlemen who owned the car inside a sunglass store and asked him to move and suggested given all the parking around us that he could perhaps next time park in a spot and not block people in he said to me “But you should wait.” I said “Why” He said, “Because I am Qatari”…pathetic.
I’m surprised he could even speak English, lol.
He could speak it no problem! Luckily I lost the power of speech and action at the right time to save myself a long couple of years in the ‘Doha Hilton’!!!!!
Why is there a picture of a crane not a tow truck DN, or does it take a crane to tow those ridiculously over sized vehicles some here love to drive because it makes up for their lack masculinity and allows them to bully other road users?
No, the police is writing a ticket to the ‘tow truck’ since the truck was trying to tow the police car for parking illegally blocking other vehicles 🙂 !!!
LOL, yep seen it!
The day I see a tow truck towing away a Land Cruiser, complete with driver still sitting in the driver’s seat, I can die a happy man. Sheer bliss…
I see daily…but they go to garages for repair
Moral of the news…expat if parked behind, their vehicle will be deported to their country and locals if parked behind will be left free
“……include parking behind/beside already parked cars in front of government and non-government buildings, at the gates of large warehouses and the entrances to private homes.” Anybody with half a legal brain could probably ask 1000 questions based on that definition. Ah what’s the point? Without stripes on the road or a sign on a post the offending car will be declared illegal parked simply because a Qatari doesn’t like where it is.
Just put a see thru decal of the Emir, his dad, etc on your car…
Your get out of responsibility and manners card.
I hope the metro comes with car parks, if not its a failed solution.
Only if it has valet parking- can you really see a LC owner parking and WALKING to the station? Whole new business enterprise there- hmmmm
When i first came here 5 years ago the first thing i noticed was no parking next to shops, and stores ect… I thought okey,,, who is in charge of allocation of space next to businesses? Really what good does it do to build all this if you can’t park? They should remove every other building in the entire city to make parking lots. No one needs parking garages!. And the roads,,, they do not make much since at all. Been here five years and sometimes i still need to look around to see the torch tower or someother building to find my direction. Really i do not think much planning went into much of this place. So go figure why people park all over the place in strange spots. They still have to take care of what they need to do even if there is no parking lots!!
Perhaps this should include those cars whose drivers seem to think a roundabout is a parking area, a place to wait for friends, have a nap, whatever. How many accidents are caused because cars hurtle around in the outside lane into a stationary vehicle, or pull out into the path of another because they couldn’t see. Not only stupid, but dangerous. Sadly, they are often police vehicles……..
A solution for Qatar Parking Issues
https://youtu.be/r9DWZHAH5V4