Professional vs. non-professional drivers: unveiling the risky driving behaviours on local road in Qatar.

Taxis are one of the key travel modes, particularly for tourists as well as locals, placing professional taxi drivers in a key role in ensuring public safety. This study compares the driving behaviour of professional and non-professional on local roads in Qatar. A total of 52 professional and 48 non-professional drivers participated in the driving simulator experiment. The tested conditions included drivers' yielding behaviour at crosswalks, driving behind a slow bus and turning left at a T-intersection while assessing and accepting short gaps in oncoming traffic. The results indicated that professional drivers demonstrated more conservative driving behaviour across tested conditions. Professional drivers had higher yielding rates and reduced crossing speeds at crosswalk compared to non-professional drivers. Moreover, professional drivers were less likely to overtake the bus and maintained higher headways with it. Additionally, they were less influenced by external factors, specifically close following and honking, when turning left at intersections.