Learners waiting to take road test for driver’s licence at a driving school on Thursday.
BY MOHAMAD SHOEB
DOHA: The waiting time to join classes at driving schools after registration is becoming longer — it varies from one month for manual cars to two months for automatic ones — thanks to a rising number of people going for a driver’s licence.
And as driving schools are doing brisk business due to the huge rush, some are taking undue advantage and finding ways to make an extra buck by making learners take additional classes.
Interviews with a number of learners reveal that one must spend anywhere from QR2,500 to QR6,000 to acquire a driver’s licence, with the result that several limited-income people give up learning midway.
Most beginners with no previous driving experience are required to take two full courses (each with 40 practical classes) as they are not able to pass the required tests in five chances (including a grace test).
A 65-year-old Pakistani said he had to spend QR6,000 to get a driver’s licence. Based here for 30 years, Wazeer said his company, in the construction industry, promoted him as a foreman and asked him to get a licence.
“I got the licence today after appearing for the seventh test, but I am not very happy because I had to spend about QR6,000,” he told this newspaper.
Mohammad Talib, an Indian expatriate who recently joined a Qatari company as a safety engineer, said of similar woes. He said: “I found driving school fees in Qatar roughly three times more than the average in other GCC states. Now I repent why I didn’t take a licence during my six years stay in Saudi Arabia.”
A driving school near Old Airport, with a fleet of more than 100 cars, always remains crowded with new trainees. The school has no room for people demanding urgent training classes.
“For training in automatic cars (for evening classes) the minimum waiting time is two months. And those who want to go for manual cars, the waiting time is one month”, said an executive of a driving school.
It has been found that a large number of trainees are not able to clear their tests as they were not given proper instructions by trainers.
“During the first course, my trainer was rude to me until I paid him QR100. But after 10 days he again started giving vibes for more tips and gifts. As I gave the new trainer another QR100 on the very first day, also with a promise to give him a good gift after getting the licence, half of the course was already over,” added Monti, not giving his real name.
During training period some instructors also try to grab money from desperate licence seekers with a promise to use their influence to help them get licence.
“On the early morning of my test day when I was standing in front of a counter and waiting for my name to be announced to go for the road test, an official of the school (who is also an instructor for simulation classes) wrote QR500 in a piece of paper and showed me, saying if I give him that amount now, he would talk to his seniors,” said another Indian not disclosing his name.
The Peninsula
