# Road Rage Dubai



## SummerGlow (Jun 18, 2013)

Hi Guys,

I wanted some advice on how to handle some of the drivers here, have you ever been involved into road rage like situation? How did you handle it?

I have been driving here for 2 months and it is really driving me mad! How reckless and careless people are, driving wherever they want at whatever speed they want.

Have you ever tried speaking to these drivers? Is that something frowned upon?


Would appreciate some advice:noidea:


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
Learn to chill is best advice I can give.
If you argue, shout, swear or make rude gestures to the wrong person - then you risk arrest and deportation - so not worth the aggro.
If someone is flashing behind you and you cannot get out of the way - then put your hazard lights on. This causes instant back off - then you can get out of the way.
I like brake testing people - but it is very dangerous and causes big problems!
Cheers
Steve


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## cautious_mover (Dec 9, 2009)

SummerGlow said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I wanted some advice on how to handle some of the drivers here, have you ever been involved into road rage like situation? How did you handle it?
> 
> ...


How do you suggest we address the issue? The problem is: so many nationalities consider driving habits differently. For Europeans, flashing lights is considered rude - but in Egypt for example its a sign of courtesy when passing. The full beam is actually called a Passing Light on some cars - used for Passing other cars...The solution is to drive as safely as you can and let the others so as they please. Nothing will change and therefore its not in your control to do anything about it. Annoying yes - but what can you do?


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## SummerGlow (Jun 18, 2013)

I am normally the one flashing as it just kills me when someone is driving on 70km/h in a mid lane of Emirates Road or worse on a fast lane...

I never swear though or show any inappropriate gestures but i used to ask them what the heck. The issue is you cannot reason with people like that.


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

Are you making stuff up?

Been here over a year, and havent or heard of anyone getting pulled over for reckless driving.


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

SummerGlow said:


> I am normally the one flashing as it just kills me when someone is driving on 70km/h in a mid lane of Emirates Road or worse on a fast lane...
> 
> I never swear though or show any inappropriate gestures but i used to ask them what the heck. The issue is you cannot reason with people like that.


Aha
Now the truth comes out.
You're one of those road rage drivers yourself


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## SummerGlow (Jun 18, 2013)

arabianhorse said:


> Aha
> Now the truth comes out.
> You're one of those road rage drivers yourself




No im not! Dont get me wrong, i only flash when there is a need for it- i.e if someone jumps in front of me or tries to squeeze, or enters the roundabout when im right there in front of him or drives ridiculously slow when they have lanes designated for slow drivers or when they dont show signals and do stupid stuff. The list is endless really


I find it hard to tolerate people that have no respect for others.


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## SummerGlow (Jun 18, 2013)

I should probably mention that i commute from Sharjah to give you a picture of what kind of people im dealing with


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

Ok, you just admitted to *constant *flashing...


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

hate flashers.
its using your headlights to give someone the finger


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

QOFE said:


> Ok, you just admitted to *constant *flashing...


Flashing is rude


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

SummerGlow said:


> I should probably mention that i commute from Sharjah to give you a picture of what kind of people im dealing with


Hi,
I think you are starting to show yourself to be a bit racist.
I suggest you stop digging the big hole that you are currently falling into!
Cheers
Steve


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

Veronica said:


> Flashing is rude


I'm sure Jimmy Saville would have enjoyed it... 

(referring to the lookalike on the picture)


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## cautious_mover (Dec 9, 2009)

I saw an awful accident some weeks ago. Friday morning, exiting from Umm Suqueim to Al Khail in direction of Abu Dhabi. Suddenly a motorbike comes past at about 200 kph. Wow, I thought - what an absolute lunatic. Heart beat starts to settle as I carry on driving. Then debris starts to appear in the road, the objects getting larger. Body parts. The motorcyclist and collided with the back end of one of the water trucks with a frame on the back where the pump is. Diced. All over Al Khail Road. Certainly wakens the senses when you see that.


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## Made in Sheffield (Mar 12, 2014)

Flashing headlights in the UK is showing courtesy to other drivers (letting people out at a junction etc) so I was verrry confused when I first moved here. I thought what a spiffing lot of awfully nice people


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Bit unfair....

The vast majority of commuters from Sharjah to Dubai are expats from other Arab countries or South Asia. Their driving standards are different, and if you'd ever driven in Egypt or Lebanon or India or Russia or Pakistan, you'd certainly understand. 



Stevesolar said:


> Hi,
> I think you are starting to show yourself to be a bit racist.
> I suggest you stop digging the big hole that you are currently falling into!
> Cheers
> Steve


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Mate, one of the things I'm very thankful for is that despite all my years in the UAE I've been gladly spared the sights of a dreadful accident with dead bodies. 

But now that I'm doing the daily commute to AD it's just a matter of time. Groan.



cautious_mover said:


> I saw an awful accident some weeks ago. Friday morning, exiting from Umm Suqueim to Al Khail in direction of Abu Dhabi. Suddenly a motorbike comes past at about 200 kph. Wow, I thought - what an absolute lunatic. Heart beat starts to settle as I carry on driving. Then debris starts to appear in the road, the objects getting larger. Body parts. The motorcyclist and collided with the back end of one of the water trucks with a frame on the back where the pump is. Diced. All over Al Khail Road. Certainly wakens the senses when you see that.


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

QOFE said:


> I'm sure Jimmy Saville would have enjoyed it...
> 
> (referring to the lookalike on the picture)


Now then, now then ...


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

TallyHo said:


> Mate, one of the things I'm very thankful for is that despite all my years in the UAE I've been gladly spared the sights of a dreadful accident with dead bodies.
> 
> But now that I'm doing the daily commute to AD it's just a matter of time. Groan.


I saw a corpse face down on the tarmac of a single carriageway truck road. The trucks are fine and generally behave themselves, in fact they half drive on the hard shoulder to open up space for overtaking. There are a few blind crests and morons still motor up and over them either in the middle of the road, or even worse on the wrong side of the road. 

One time I was heading on this truck road (the one from E311/E611 down to Al Faya on the AD / Al Ain road) back to Dubai and eventually ran into a huge tailback of trucks. Being a lazy kent with a 4x4 I slide onto the sand and motored up the side, and on the very worst crest I spotted two cars that had collided head on. 

The accident wasn't that bad, they were smashed up a bit but not excessively - looked like a glancing blow when one swerved to avoid the other. Unfortunately it knocked the rear door off one of them, and the passenger inside clearly wasn't wearing a seat belt ... pavement pizza (in a manner of speaking).

tl:dr - don't be a moron and wear your seltbelts too.


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## cautious_mover (Dec 9, 2009)

TallyHo said:


> Bit unfair....
> 
> The vast majority of commuters from Sharjah to Dubai are expats from other Arab countries or South Asia. Their driving standards are different, and if you'd ever driven in Egypt or Lebanon or India or Russia or Pakistan, you'd certainly understand.


I always wondered why someone would want to live in Sharjah and commute to Abu Dhabi. Its not the distance - its the danger of the daily drive and the fatigue. Having said that - three years ago I had a camel pass me in the back of a pickup at 180 KmH on the same road. You should have seen the flared nostrils of the poor creature!


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Fat Bhoy Tim said:


> Now then, now then ...


Can you see what it is yet?


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> Can you see what it is yet?


Goodness gracious!


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

TallyHo said:


> Bit unfair....
> 
> The vast majority of commuters from Sharjah to Dubai are expats from other Arab countries or South Asia. Their driving standards are different, and if you'd ever driven in Egypt or Lebanon or India or Russia or Pakistan, you'd certainly understand.



If you have to pick on ethnicity, then the ethnic makeup of drivers in most parts of older Dubai such as Bur Dubai, Rashidiya, Oud Metha are no different than those in Sharjah. And yet driving is scarier in the latter, so there are other factors more important than racial background influencing driving standards....


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## Sootydaz (Dec 29, 2014)

I'm considering changing my car as it seems to attract unwanted attention from other road users especially ones who seem to think their 1.6 hire car is faster so travel within inches behind me at 100


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## expatteacher2014 (Mar 18, 2014)

Sootydaz said:


> ... travel within inches behind me at 100


Well, if you will insist on dawdling ... :noidea:


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## A.Abbass (Jun 28, 2014)

I meet too many whiners in Dubai, and most of them are from a certain nationality.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Put it this way:

I'd rather be an alive whiner than a dead driver.



A.Abbass said:


> I meet too many whiners in Dubai, and most of them are from a certain nationality.


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## taliacottage (Dec 2, 2014)

There was another thread on this forum where a bunch of people (of a "certain nationality") where whining about unfair hiring practices. 

And now this where a different bunch of people (of a "certain nationality") are complaining about reckless driving practices. 

It's good to know that nationality doesn't seem to a barrier for whining.


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

Ahh

Racism is well and truly alive and kicking in this great land of expat mercenaries.


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

A.Abbass said:


> I meet too many whiners in Dubai, and most of them are from a certain nationality.


I'll rather be a whiner than a weener...


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
253 Nationalities living in (near) harmony!
Cheers
Steve


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## A.Abbass (Jun 28, 2014)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi,
> 253 Nationalities living in (near) harmony!
> Cheers
> Steve


I thought there were only 196 countries ?


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

A.Abbass said:


> I thought there were only 196 countries ?


So did I, where did the other 25% come from? Or could it be that (for example) Scots, Welsh and English are different nationalities even though officially they're all British.

Says the Englishman.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

It includes territories like Hong Kong, Falkland Islands, Greenland, Faroe Islands, all of the non-independent Caribbean islands, etc.

Countries of the World - Overseas Territories, Dependent Areas, and Disputed Territories - Nations Online Project


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## Beamrider (May 18, 2012)

Nothing you can do. You learn to keep alert on the road, even if it's the neverending straight line on SZR, shrug the constant line-swerving, tailgating and general bullyism off your back.

And Maalox. Lots of Maalox.


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