Driving in Qatar is unique. The speed limits are strictly enforced, but the Qataris drive WAY over the limit. Indians, the largest expat nationality group, ignore lines whenever it suites them. Normally, people just cope, but today we saw firsthand what could happen. We had a little excitement on the way in to work today. We witnessed a 1-vehicle accident as it happened.
The accident only involved a single car. The driver was a member of the Qatar military. He was driving real fast and had a blowout. That caused him to lose control of his vehicle. After several swerves, he ricocheted from one side of the highway to the other, bouncing off the concrete barricades. His car eventually came to rest near an off ramp.
Remarkably, the guy seemed hurt very little…I mean he had a gash on his head, so it looked bad, but he was alert and ambulatory. He told me he was driving fast and his tire exploded. I had a travel pack of tissues in my backpack, so I used that as some makeshift gauze until the ambulance arrived. I had to keep telling the man to put it on his head and hold it.
My coworker called 999 (the emergency number here). Once the police and ambulance arrived, we made our statements. After ensuring the man was being treated, we left and came in to work. One of the ambulances was an SUV. I thought that was a little odd. The second ambulance, however, was a van that could transport him.
The car itself was messed up, bad…whole front end pushed in, coolant, oil, transmission fluid leaking all over the place. Rear lights were busted out. One of the front wheels was bent inward. I didn’t take any pictures. I wound up driving in from there, and we got to work safely. I will probably pick up a small first aid kit to keep in the car going forward, just in case.