A little obsessed perhaps?

Oh, yes...you guessed it - another blog on driving.  Today driving up Salwa Road (3 lanes on either side of a median, and quite a few kms long), I was confronted by a Caucasian male driver who drifted into my lane not once, but twice! and not just ahead of me, but right on top of me, so that I had to brake to avoid being meshed at the wheel like a reluctant siamese twin.  I hooted like mad (I have joined the throng of hornblowers in the spirit of "if you can't beat them, join them"), but he remained oblivious.   He had this glazed look on his face, both hands clutched to the steering wheel in the 11/1 position, and staring straight ahead - so my theory is that he must be a recent arrival and still feeling very much like a deer caught in headlights.  Driving a brand new, out-the-box, shiny Jeep was another dead giveaway.  (Believe me, you really can tell in this wild driving town.)  And then the last straw was in the usual battle of the round-abouts when he literally squeezed me out of my lane, bringing me to a complete stop, to the orchestral sound of squeeling brakes and horns sounding all around him.  Of course, he remained oblivious once again. 

I am so gobsmacked at the utter lack of rule following - feel like I should just drive a beater, or maybe an auctioned off tank, or refurbish the car to derby standards.  All I need is a helmet and safety webbing as added touches.  Then maybe they will all steer clear of me.  Particularly galling is that we always expect better of our fellow ex-pats - seems that's a sentiment we will have to toss out. 

But it looks like the authorities are getting serious about this no-holds-barred driving.  Here is an excerpt from an email that is making the rounds of ex-pat circles in Doha, discussing a new points system to penalize poor driving. 
1. "The law stipulates that the driver and front seat passenger should wear seat belts all the time".  Ok, clear on that, but I guess this does not include the baby held by mother in the front seat, or the kids who regularly stand between the front seats, or kneel on the back seats to get a better view.  No points deducted though.

2. "Driving the opposite direction" will net you 6 negative points.  Does this include the guy who uses the sidewalk to avoid clogged roads I wonder?  (Sidewalk is a fairly loose term to indicate the sandspace between storefronts and compound/villa perimeter walls and the road).
3. "Blocking the flow of traffic intentionally" - 3 points.  I particularly like this one as I really hope it puts an end to vehicles that park in a round-about waiting for their friends to catch up, thus blocking an entire third lane.  And it would be really nice if it acted as a deterrent to those who decide that we can all just wait while they double and triple park outside stores to make that "quick purchase".
4. "Making U turns" will cost you 3 points.  I could do without this one as this is a city of no left turns and you have to drive miles out of your way to do a legal u-turn in order to make a legal right turn where you really want to be.  I am actually surprised that I don't see more cowboys jumping medians to get to the other side of the road.
Consequences of violation is licence suspension after 14 points earned, and possible imprisonment from one month to three years or fined QR 10-50,000, or both.

So, I do not want to be pulled over, or caught on camera ever!  My cell phone will not be used during driving (you never know who's behind you watching) and I will employ cruise control despite the horns of frustration behind me, and I will definitely not drive my car in the wrong direction to traffic - no matter what.
I will be vigilant!  Let's hope others are too.