New rules for driving schools in Qatar

Manama: Qatar will this month make theoretical classes part of driving lessons under new rules for driving schools, a senior traffic official has said.

Brigadier Mohammad Sa'ad Al Kharji, director of the Traffic Department, said that executive regulations would be issued soon as a precursor to the implementation of the new rules on August 27.

The official said driving schools would be asked to give theoretical classes along with practical lessons to new trainees.

Currently, some driving schools offer theoretical classes but they are not compulsory. The lessons will include basic information about vehicle parts and their functions and practical steps such as how to change a damaged tyre, he said.

Al Kharji said an online awareness campaign on traffic safety being conducted by the department through its web site had become a big hit with the youth.

"The programme, which is a first in the region, has succeeded in reaching out to ... the youth," Al Kharji said, quoted by Qatari daily The Peninsula.

He said the number of deaths due to traffic accidents had come down and attributed this decline to the success of the new traffic law as well as the national awareness campaign launched by the department in collaboration with various civic organisations.

The number of daredevil acts by young people on motorcycles has also come down with more people abiding by the law, he said.

Brigadier Mohammad Abdullah Al Malki, coordinator of the national awareness programme, said several studies had shown that a high number of the road accidents in Qatar were caused by the use of low-quality spare parts, especially tyres.