A recent incident regarding tailgating came to light on social media and caused a stir. This article will explain what the laws are with respect to tailgating in Qatar and what the penalty for it is.
The Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Traffic is responsible for planning and regulating traffic movement on the roads of Qatar and making sure traffic laws are implemented to ensure safety and security for everyone on the road.
Based on MOI statistical data on traffic accidents in Qatar, many traffic accidents take place because there is not enough distance between the vehicles.
According to the law in Qatar, there must be a distance of, not less than, 5-10 metres between two vehicles so that if the vehicle in front has to stop suddenly there is enough distance for the vehicles behind to brake without hitting the vehicle in front.
In case, it's raining, it's foggy, there's a strong wind or the visibility is poor, the distance between two vehicles must be multiplied more than twice, so 5-10 metres would become 15-20 metres approximately.
Unfortunately, many vehicle drivers do not follow these instructions and ignore the rules without thinking that if the driver of the vehicle in front applies their brakes, for some reason, (something came in front of the car, the driver became ill, accident, etc.) there may be an accident, and it's the rear driver who will be in trouble because he wasn't following the Qatar traffic laws of maintaining a safe distance between themselves and those vehicles that are ahead of them.
Since tailgating is such a dangerous thing, it is a criminal offence and a traffic violation in Qatar. In fact, the driver of the vehicle that hits another vehicle from behind will be seen as the offender in the eyes of Qatari law because they did not keep adequate vehicle distance and were unable to stop in time.
According to Law no. 19 of 2007 regarding traffic laws in Qatar:
Article 57: No person shall commit any of the following acts:
Article 64: Motorists shall observe the following:
If you are caught tailgating in Qatar, you will be fined QR 500, with the chance of having the vehicle impounded for a certain period of time.
Article 88 (Amended By Law 5/2010): The Director of the Traffic Department or his appointee may order any motor vehicle to be impounded for a period not exceeding 90 days on the basis of the memorandum produced by the person who witnessed or investigated the incident:
According to Article 89 of Law no. 19 of 2007 regarding traffic laws in Qatar, the cost of impounding a vehicle is calculated as follows:
Note: If the owner of the impounded vehicle does not collect their car from the impound after paying the fine or facing the penalty within six months, the vehicle may be sold and the money received will be used to pay the fine.
Sources: MOI; Al Meezan
Cover image credit: Shutterstock
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