Driving Test

There is a funny little rule here in Doha.....

I know I have said this before in this blog, but let me reiterate it now, Doha is a culture based on society heirarchies based on which country you are from.  Typically, that puts Americans near the top of the list, but not so when it comes to driver's licenses.  If you are from Australia, Britain, France, Italy, etc, etc, etc you can just walk into the driver's license place and get a Qatar driver's license.  Voila!  Easy as pie.  The only people who don't benefit from this are people from the continent of Asia, including the middle eastern countries, India, all the island countries like Sri Lanka, Philippines, etc.  Oh, and North Americans.

The story goes that a Sheik from Qatar came to live in the USA and needed a driver's license.  In the USA, everyone from out of the country has to take the driving portion of the test to receive a license.  This is not the case in Qatar and this angered the Sheik when an exception wasn't made for him.  Therefore, from then on, Americans must take the entire test in Qatar as well.

I wouldn't complain if everyone from all cultures had to do it (like in the USA), but it is a silly reason to just make the Americans do it when all other western countries are exempt in Qatar.  Anyway, no big deal, I am not here to change any rules.

I have been able to drive here on an International License so far, but now that I have received my resident permit to live here off a tourist visa, I can no longer use the International license.  Here is my story of the driver's license test:

The appointment time for the test each day for everyone is 5:30 am.  I wasn't sure where to go, so a driver from a company Crom is using to help with these type things was supposed to pick me up at 5:00.  I am up and studying for the signs portion of the test at 4:30.  (for those who know me well, I am not a morning person, but I do well with cramming at the last minute)  It was 5:30 before the driver arrived to pick me up.  Grrr  I could have slept an extra 30 min.  By the time he drops me off, it is 6:00 and I am 30 minutes late.  I am directed to the ladies check in/waiting area.  I am the LAST person to arrive.  Approximately 200 other women also have 5:30 am appointments.  I walk in wearing my jeans and long sleeve pink shirt and quickly notice I am only one of maybe 3 westerners, and the only American, in the entire room.  The rest are mostly muslim women in all assortments of headscarves, abayas, etc and Philippine women.  Needless to say, I stand out and because I am late, all eyes are on me.  :)

I check in and pay the money for the test.  I had already had the eye test completed a different day since that can't be done at the driving test site.  I head over to the window to do the signs portion.  A women opens the glass and points to about 10 different signs that I have to identify.  No problem, my experience driving here for the past 4 months and my last minute cram session this morning helps me breeze through this part of the test.  Then I go take a seat with everyone else and wait.  And wait.  And wait.

Every 15 min. or so, a man enters the room and calls out about 30 names that I don't understand.  The pronunciation of the names is so different than any names I have ever heard, that I am not sure if I will even recognize it when he calls my name.  I am really focusing with each name called so I don't miss it.  After 2 hours, I notice that most women have already come back into the waiting room from the next part of the test and are being called again to get on a bus for the road driving portion of the test.  I begin to think, did I miss my name being called???  I keep in my head that Bobby and some other Americans I have met got to skip the middle portion of the test so I am hopeful that is the case for me.  This portion involved getting in the car, turning to the right and driving up a steep slope.  You have the stop the car halfway up as if you are at a stop sign making sure to not go over the white line.  Then you drive all the way up the slope, and then back down the slope continuing around the bend in reverse and park again without hitting any cones.  Not that I don't think I could pass this section, but this is where almost all the people taking the test get failed.  You aren't allowed to correct at all while in reverse.  So if you are getting too close to the cone as you make the 90 deg turn backing into the start position and have to pull forward a little, you fail.  Ugh.  (at least 2 Americans I know have failed this part of the test)

Luckily, my name is finally called at about 8:15.  "Keelee" is how it sounded and it kind of made me smile that they didn't even attempt Oyenarte with all the other wild names he has been up there pronouncing.  It looked like I was getting to miss the middle portion of the test after all since I got to go onto the bus for the driving portion of the test.  For the next 2 hours, I got to ride around this area in a bus full of 30 women following a car that each of us had to take turns driving.  All the women in my bus were speaking Arabic, so I had no idea what anyone was saying.  Every 3 - 5 minutes the car and bus would pull over and switch drivers.  When the woman would get back on the bus after driving, she often said things, and everyone would laugh, but I had no idea what anyone was saying.  A girl from the Philippines was sitting behind me and every once in awhile, she would ask the girl next to here what everyone was laughing about.  I caught a few tidbits -- one of which was a girl got on the bus and said she forgot to wear her seatbelt.

I am not sure if wearing a seatbelt is a law here or not, but if it is, it isn't enforced.  You can see kids hanging out of sunroofs, windows, and climbing all over the car as you are driving down the street.  It makes me sick to my stomach to see it, especially because the chances of getting into an accident are so much greater here.  I have already witnessed 4 accidents occur in 4 months (more than I have ever actually witness happen in my lifetime at home).  We have been rear-ended already (luckily with no damage).

A lady is taking her turn in the car when all of a sudden we hear squealing tires and the bus slams on the brakes.  The car was supposed to be turning left, but the woman driving turned too late and she slammed the car into the curb along the corner of the street.  Needless to say, I am pretty sure she didn't pass.  She got back on the bus very sad looking and embarrassed.

I start listening to the conversation of the girls behind me speaking English and realize the girl from the Philippines is taking the test for the 4th time.  I have heard about this (the average amount of times to fail is 3 if you are from the Philippines).  She is saying that she failed last time because she put the car in gear before she turned off the hazards.  WHAT?!  I wasn't even nervous until I heard that.  She is going over the order you should do before you actually start driving.  Hazards off, parking brake off, car in gear, turn signal on to pull into traffic.  Now I am getting nervous.  We are in the back of the bus, so are in the last 5 drivers to go.  Finally, it is my turn.

I get in the car and say a friendly "hello" to the driver.  He has a really bushy beard (which isn't all that common here -- most men keep it trim and close to the face).  He says a deep "hello" back.  The rearview mirror is all askew and the seat is too close.  I go ahead and adjust both of those and notice a muslim woman in the back of the car.  I guess she is there because this man is testing female drivers?  Anyway, after getting the seat and mirrors adjusted, I move on to putting the car in gear and taking off the parking brake.  I knew to wait to go until he said go (people get failed for going before the tester says to) and so he then gestures with his hand to go.  I begin to pull forward slightly and realized the hazards are still going!!!  Agh!  Didn't I just hear that girl failed because she turned off the hazards after putting the car in gear?  Oh well, too late to change that now.  I pull into the traffic and we begin to approach a roundabout.  Most people are really worried about the roundabouts during the driving test because they are usually 3 laned and which lane you begin the roundabout depends on where you plan to exit the roundabout.  If you start in the wrong lane, you will fail.  Luckily, I have been driving here for 4 months and have the roundabouts mastered.  As we approach, the man says "go #@*#($ at the roundabout" in very difficult to understand English.  I think to myself "I am pretty sure he said go right".  As I drive a little further, I start to question that and think maybe he said go straight.  I couldn't really tell.  I decide it is better to have him repeat it then go the wrong way and fail.  I say -"I'm sorry, did you say go right or go straight?"  He looks irritatingly at me as says much clearer this time "straight".  whew!  Glad I asked, except then he starts writing stuff down.  Maybe I will fail for the hazard lights and for questioning the instructor....  Just after the roundabout he says I can pull over.  Glad it's over either way.

Finally, everyone has had a turn and we arrive back in the waiting room.  Now we have to wait to see if we pass or not.  I am listening closely again for my name.  I see the girl get called up who said she forgot her seatbelt and could tell by her smile that she passed.  She was from a GCC country based on her attire (GCC is Gulf Cooperation Council and includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain).  If she passed without a seatbelt, I hope I pass with my small indiscretions.  I am called up and they ask me in English if I have a ATM?  I am thinking "ATM card?" and I pull out my wallet.  They don't do anything though and still ask "ATM?"  I say "I don't understand?"  They say "ATM?" again.  So frustrating for both sides.  Finally, they let it drop when I show them a credit card.  They give me a number and tell me to wait until my number shows up on the screen.  "Does that mean I passed?", I say, and they agree.  HOORAY!!!!

While I am waiting another 30 minutes for my number to be called, I notice that a large group of about 20 women are called up all together and put in a line.  Up to this point, they are calling people up one or two at a time.  Once all the women are up there, they tell them they all failed.  WHOA!  I heard one of them say they were all from the same bus!  That is like almost the entire bus failed.  Glad I wasn't on that one!  Also while waiting I see the Philippine girl who was taking the test for the 4th time get called up.  She failed again, as did her friend who was there with her.  She didn't know why she failed this time.  It is a shame that they seem to be pickier on some nationalities than others.  I felt so bad for her.

I am finally called up to the window and they say "you pay".  I ask how much?  He says, "250".  I try to give him cash and he says "No cash -- ATM".  AHA!  Now I know why they were asking me that earlier.  Because they only take credit cards they want to make sure you have one.  I pay and receive my license.  WHOO HOO!! I am finished (al be it 7 hours later)!  I can finally pee (I had been holding it all this time because of focusing on hearing when my name would be called), eat, and take some advil for a massive headache.

So, it's official.  I am a legal resident and driver of Qatar now.  And once again, appreciative to be American today instead of from the Philippines  but would have rather had a British passport to bypass all the mayhem.  Well, just for today.