Oman is proud of its heritage and ethics

“Also sometimes people avoid using indicators because others don’t respect what it really means. So if you are driving on the road the minute you indicate, the car next to you or behind you will try and avoid you from coming into the lane.”

Ali Al Barwani, the Head of the Oman Road Safety Association (ORSA) agrees and says that this is more of an ethical behaviour rather than just the usual driving etiquette.

“This is more than courtesy on the roads, it’s more of a personal behaviour, the person when he drives presents himself as a human of course and it’s about their ethics.”

He said that religion should play a role, “We are in a Muslim country, so as well as from the Islamic point of view, I kindly request people from this religion to behave well and to respect everyone, Islam rewards Muslims to be good. For example if they see a stone on the road which might affect passers by, Islam rewards people to remove that stone and take out the risk of hurting other people, and it’s a very simple act.

“All religions ask people to act well, and in Oman we can use Islam as an example. This country has always been proud of its heritage and ethics of its people, and it’s not only Omanis but residents of Oman are also proud of our values, so this very small percentage of people who are not aligned with all these nice things, and are not acting respectful, that’s something is not nice and we are against it.”

Al Barwani supports a call for action, “I think this is happening now, and we cannot hide our heads and say it’s not there and I think if we do this (a campaign targeting courtesy on the roads) it will pay attention to the problem, and if its increasing we need to stop it.” Residents and citizens have also called for a call to action, and said that motorists need lessons in road courtesy, “Absolutely, we need to recognise and accept responsibility for the actions on the road. Driving with courtesy not only maintains safety of passengers and other road users, but can make everyone’s experiences on the road significantly better and enjoyable,” said Maria Al Ghafri

“Roads are for all- cars, trucks, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists. Let’s all be courteous to everyone,” said Suresh Balakrishnan.