The Road to Scary Driving Starts in Dubai
If you regularly read this space you’ve probably figured out that I’m not too thrilled with the people I meet on the bus and metro. So you might be wondering why I don’t save myself from the anguish of holding onto poles that other people seem to have mistaken for handkerchiefs.
So why not just drive? The short answer is I live in Dubai. If you’ve been to the Middle East, you too may be questioning what percentage of people passed their driving test by fluke. If you haven’t been here, you are perhaps wondering what could go wrong in a city that has strict laws against drinking and driving, using a mobile phone while behind the wheel and (in theory) tailgating.
The real trouble is the people. People who can drive just fine when they are in other parts of the world, but not over here. Now I’m willing to accept that there are some cars where the turn signals don’t work and the drivers actually believe they are signalling while changing lanes. And I’m sure there are people who prefer to communicate their desire to change lanes via telepathy. But surely I don’t live in a city with a disproportionate number of faulty vehicles and individuals blessed with telepathy?
Then there are the people who are very keen to teach you what a nanosecond is. In case you are wondering, that is the amount of time in between the traffic light turning green and the car behind you honking.
And let’s not forget the individuals who have decided that the roads are actually an obstacle course where they can attain points. The more often you change lanes, the higher you score. Bonus points if you drive at 50 kmh above the speed limit in the slow lane.
Then again, if you’ve been to Cairo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Manila or Mumbai you might just appreciate the discipline of the average driver in Dubai.
My experience in Dubai was the same!! Stay safe! 😉
haha sounds very similar to Mexico City. It pains me to say it but I think the case here is “if you can’t beat em, join em.”
Vietnam is a wild place.. but its like people have the brains of fish or birds. There aren’t a lot of crashes because they have developed a 6th sense and all know to turn and dodge at the same time. Still.. a wild wild driving experience. However, they all use turn signals because if you signal and crash.. it is not your fault.
Not to forget the Carolinas! After driving the backroads there, even Cairo was a pushover.
So there’s a developed part of the world with worse driving than Cairo? Oh my. I honestly thought I was going home in a body bad when I was in Cairo
Begs the use of “developed” but, yes, I’m afraid it was worse (Bubba takes his half of the road out of the middle & still doesn’t bother with all the “brake” stuff).
I was going to say, I’ve been to my share of foreign cities with bad driving, but it’s hard to imagine a place worse than Manila. At least I know Dubai is second to worst on the list!
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, etc. i find actually quite well mannered, when it comes to drivers, outside of a few Pakistani taxi drivers, perhaps. 😉 Actually most places ( i’ve never been to Asia, though) i find quite wonderful to drive as opposed to ….. Paris. It’s probably the worst driving experience one can have, as far as “considerate” drivers are concerned, i find. It’s perfectly normal to Parisians, it seems, to bump cars, especially when parking, getting into or out of a space. Dubai traffic, however, is another story, 😉
The issue isn’t funny but the way you wrote it amused me a lot. I could just picture a similar scenario in my country, the Philippines where buses mistake the highways for a race track, where jeepneys just stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers unmindful of the traffic that they cause, where private vehicles snake in and out of lanes. You’re not alone my dear 🙂
Yeah riding triple seat on a moped on Mactan Island in Cebu was a beyond harrowing experience. Never again!
wow, you’re brave! i won’t for the life of me ever try that (well, maybe unless it’s a life or death situation).
heheh! you ve not driven in indian cities then. here people shout at each other instead of honking, they pretty much take the term ‘king of the road’ pretty seriously and the general principle here is “the pedestrian s always the victim and it’s always the driver’s fault” 😛
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting India (take a look at my post on Delhi airport) and I was absolutely mortified when cars in the same lane were driving towards me. I was no longer willing to use my international license.
technically, there is no slow lane in the road, its just a mindset of drivers that the last lane is for fast drivers…
outstanding picture.
I’ve read several accounts of the driving in Dubai, especially in the early morning fog.
And as for Cairo – horrible. Just. Horrible.I nearly did go home in a body bag.
Terry Pratchett called that the New York Second – I live in London so I disagree, and think it’s the Cab Driver Second!
Great article, and from the comments I think I will never drive anywhere!