There are presently six driving schools in the country, but given the expected increase in the number of licence seekers over the next few years, they are not sufficient to cope with the rising demand, say experts. According to estimates available, this year 49,400 people are expected to be enrolled in the driving schools and the number of driver’s licences likely to be issued by the year-end could go up to 39,500. The number of those seeking driving licences, says a market research, might jump to over 52,000 next year, increasing at the rate of an average 3,000 to 4,000 a year until 2017 when it is likely to touch the 80,000-mark. The research citing traffic department figures, suggests that at least 80 percent of learners succeed in obtaining driver’s licence after several tests. In some cases, the number of tests can exceed three. The research suggests that considering the above projections there is an opportunity for a large player (driving school) to enter the market and provide services under one roof. The existing schools are old and follow procedures which are quite complicated. They also do not focus much on training with a view to providing quality lessons to help check the surge in traffic accidents in the country. The future projections of student numbers attempted by the market research are backed by an ever-exploding increase in the population of the country as well as that of vehicles. There were 405,700 vehicles registered in 2004 with the figure rising steadily ever since, reaching a record over 570,500 last year. Private cars, obviously, accounted for the largest share at 385,800 of the total (570,500) in 2008. Trailers, among them, numbered just a little more than 8,800. Newly-registered vehicles also show a considerable rise since 2004. Their number was 35,385 in that year, increasing to 37,823 the next year, and to 49,266 by the end of 2008. Last year alone, some 37,000 new cars of various types were bought and registered. The number was 33,500 the previous year and a little more than 30,000 in 2006. The country’s population has grown immensely from under one million in 2004 to over 1.6 million by the end of last year. Thankfully, the death rate in traffic accidents has come down from 126 in 2004 to 137 last year considering that the population of the country more than doubled in this period. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=August2009&file=Local_News2009080423027.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar