Oman introduces a number of changes to road and driving regulations from 1st March 2018.

Notable is the introduction of compulsory seat belt wearing in rear seats. Whether this will be applicable to buses and mini-bus taxis wasn’t stipulated by the media. However, most of these vehicles do not have belts which will make them an easy revenue earner for the authorities.

Children’s car seats are also made mandatory in Oman under the age of 4. This is different from, for example, the European Union & therefore UK where in theory its until 12 years old (or 135cms in height). In Oman, if renting a vehicle (chauffer or self-hire) where children will be among the passengers ensure that you organize a seat either through the rental company or at your cost from a department store, such as LuLu (expect to pay from US$100 upwards) .
My rewrite of the Bradt Guide to Oman is available in eBook here and paperback through Amazon worldwide here.


Increased penalties will be levied for parking in designated Disabled parking places without a Blue Badge; also for parking in Ambulance parking places; Parking on pavements (a very common occurrence due to many commercial and residential areas having inappropriate numbers of parking places); ‘Undertaking other vehicles by using the ‘hard shoulder’ on a road; Driving slowly on a road causing traffic build up.
The list below is not the official list but reflects that – refer to Royal Omani Police for this

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