Law Against Tailgating In Qatar

Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front suddenly stops.

According to the law in Qatar, there must be a distance of not less than 5–10 meters between two vehicles so that if the vehicle in front has to stop suddenly, there is enough distance for the vehicle behind to brake without hitting the vehicle in front.

If it's raining, foggy, or there's a strong wind and the visibility is poor, the distance between two vehicles must be multiplied more than twice, so 5–10 meters would become approximately 15-20 meters.

The dangers of tailgating 

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, an 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.

What does the law in Qatar say about tailgating?

Since tailgating is such a dangerous thing, it is a criminal offense and a traffic violation in Qatar. 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:

Driving a vehicle on the road recklessly or in a manner that puts the lives of people and property at risk.

Article 64: Motorists shall observe the following:

Leave enough distance from the vehicle in front, pay attention to its driver’s signals, and only overtake the vehicle in front from the left side after giving the driver of such a vehicle an indication for overtaking him. A change of direction may take place gradually after making sure that traffic conditions allow it.

No driving behind emergency motor vehicles (Police, Internal Security Force, Civil Defense, ambulance), and leave a minimum distance of 50 meters from them.

What is the penalty for tailgating in Qatar?

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.

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 based on the memorandum produced by the person who witnessed or investigated the incident:

Driving recklessly (including tailgating) or negligently in such a way as to risk the life of the driver or other passengers.
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:

QR 150 for transporting a motor vehicle with an empty weight of less than three tons.
QR 300 for an empty-weight motor vehicle of three tons or more.
QR 15 for each day impounded.
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.