# Sickened yet again to the core by the results of UAE driving ....



## Fatenhappy (Jun 23, 2009)

And yes here is another one .... driving up the Emirates Rd this morning 6:30AM or so, just before the Hatta interchange was yet again another horrific accident. This time involving a truck and at least one car, the remains of which was wedged between the truck and the centre concrete divide ..... 

Of the car that could readily be seen, except for the boot (trunk) area and the off side rear quarter panel, the rest was a mulch heap and completely unrecognizable ....

To say that yet again I am sickened to the core is a massive understatement. 

I have been unfortunate to see these types of accidents on a number of occasions previously, but this time its different for what ever reason in that it effected me so much, that I had to come back home from work after an hour or so, ... still can't get it out of my mind .... 

Without wanting to state the obvious ... regardless of who was at fault, barely a few hours ago, death was the last thing on their minds ....


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## Free_Spirit (Aug 30, 2009)

sad...


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Very upsetting to see such a waste of life due to the way people drive.
As it is I do not know why people are in such a hurry to get to work.
Geting home I understand, But To Work.....?
If drivers slowed down just a little and showed a bit more courtsey instead of all wanting to be Jack Brabhams the roads would be a safer place.
I witness this everyday on the way to AD and back and have seen some accidents which should never have happened.
The police need to toughen up instead of just picking on trucks because they are travelling at the wrong time of the day.
Ok I have had my whinge for the day.......!


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## jander13 (Mar 12, 2009)

> As it is I do not know why people are in such a hurry to get to work.


Gestapo bosses


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

When I drive fast it's because every second I spend off the road is a second further away from death. I treat every other car on the road as a potential murderer. 

I even refuse to travel to the office if it's dusty/foggy now because I encounter hundreds (literally) of morons in white cars with no headlights on, let alone foglights, when the visibility is very poor which means I can't see them and they probably can't see me. I have to cross a dual carriageway to get into my office complex, it's like playing Russian Roulette.

What kind of society breeds people so lacking in basic common sense?


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## Laowei (Nov 29, 2009)

i understand how you feel fatenhappy, i was in India on business a few years ago traveling by car, we hit a trafic jam and slowly went past a police officer flagging cars to slow down, just passed him was a child lying uncovered and dead, my drivers comment was oh dead boy and then carried out as if it was a dead animal. Made me feel totally sick and couldnt wait to leave the country still see the image of the poor kid now.

I lived in China until recently and driving standards there are unbelievable bad, as a comparison i find the driving standard here is more down to arrogance than lack of skill, where in China its down to both arrogance and lack of skill. Quite a lot of the service station areas outside of Shanghai have huge information boards with horrifically graphic photographs of accidents and the victims of accidents. Just one look at the impact of a high speed accident on the human body and how easy ones head can be seperated from the rest of the body should be enough to slow people down, but i guess the arrogant tendancies would soon rise to the surface.

As a side point as a newbie to Dubai i rented a small toyota Corrola for a month or so, and found i was constantly getting cut up by some [email protected] in his big 4x4. When i bought a car this experience pushed me to buying a car which is a lot bigger than i usually would buy purely to have the comfort of being higher up and with a little more substance around me and my family. I hope that in a few months i can maintain my good mannered driving and not become another [email protected] in my big 4x4.


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## Free_Spirit (Aug 30, 2009)

Laowei said:


> As a side point as a newbie to Dubai i rented a small toyota Corrola for a month or so, and found i was constantly getting cut up by some [email protected] in his big 4x4. When i bought a car this experience pushed me to buying a car which is a lot bigger than i usually would buy purely to have the comfort of being higher up and with a little more substance around me and my family. I hope that in a few months i can maintain my good mannered driving and not become another [email protected] in my big 4x4.


i am driving 4x4 and i am constantly cut by some taxi drivers or other small matches boxes, there is no culture of driving, that's all.... but big car is just safer, if you have a small accident you will end up with scratches on your 4x4 against the damaged spare part of a small matches box.... now i know )))


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## jander13 (Mar 12, 2009)

> What kind of society breeds people so lacking in basic common sense?


it is when common sense is clouded by a force far greater in their eyes that they can't see. sad


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## Fatenhappy (Jun 23, 2009)

Laowei said:


> i understand how you feel fatenhappy, i was in India on business a few years ago traveling by car, we hit a trafic jam and slowly went past a police officer flagging cars to slow down, just passed him was a child lying uncovered and dead, my drivers comment was oh dead boy and then carried out as if it was a dead animal. Made me feel totally sick and couldnt wait to leave the country still see the image of the poor kid now.
> 
> I lived in China until recently and driving standards there are unbelievable bad, as a comparison i find the driving standard here is more down to arrogance than lack of skill, where in China its down to both arrogance and lack of skill. Quite a lot of the service station areas outside of Shanghai have huge information boards with horrifically graphic photographs of accidents and the victims of accidents. Just one look at the impact of a high speed accident on the human body and how easy ones head can be seperated from the rest of the body should be enough to slow people down, but i guess the arrogant tendancies would soon rise to the surface.
> 
> As a side point as a newbie to Dubai i rented a small toyota Corrola for a month or so, and found i was constantly getting cut up by some [email protected] in his big 4x4. When i bought a car this experience pushed me to buying a car which is a lot bigger than i usually would buy purely to have the comfort of being higher up and with a little more substance around me and my family. I hope that in a few months i can maintain my good mannered driving and not become another [email protected] in my big 4x4.


Because the wreckage was so bad, my immediate thoughts went out to _"what if" _.... Beside the innocent driver, what if there were also innocent passengers or even worse still, what if there were little ones involved and all because of some absolute idiot ..... 

Carnage is carnage world wide .... I just stand and shake my head in disbelief.

I know accidents are called just that because they were not intended .... they are an accident! .... IMO, with things like this they should be called murder!

I travel up and down the Emirates Rd at least every working day and only ever see _"the boys in green"_ 98% of the time at best only ever pulling up trucks. How many times do you see the police going after a speeding car? ... never yet, and all as these same idiots just cruise past those very same police cars and ..... nothing!!!

I am quite sick and tired of the indifference shown here by those who are given the office of enforcement of law in this regard. Why would the public ever obey the law when it’s neither enforced, or seen to be enforced by those empowered with enacting the same. I really don't care what the excuses are! Road law is enforced internationally quite effectively so most definitely why not here as well, without all the excuses. 

If you were to go to Australia, NZ, Canada the US etc, just as a few examples and go just a couple of K's over the limit, you know there’s a very good chance that you’ll get nicked. What’s more people also know there’s a real good chance they will get done .... here, its a joke ...

So why do I take this line .... There is no real deterrent in the UAE or for that matter the greater ME, either seen or implied by those entrusted with office to do so. Until there is, the carnage will continue!


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Fatenhappy said:


> I
> If you were to go to Australia, NZ, Canada the US etc, just as a few examples and go just a couple of K's over the limit, you know there’s a very good chance that you’ll get nicked. What’s more people also know there’s a real good chance they will get done .... here, its a joke ...
> 
> There is a cure, at least on the road to AD which I travel twice a day.
> ...


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

I have little faith in the police stopping any dangerous drivers. They simply don't seem to be bothered and most of the time don't even indicate themselves. 

-


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Elphaba said:


> I have little faith in the police stopping any dangerous drivers. They simply don't seem to be bothered and most of the time don't even indicate themselves.
> 
> -


How very true, but when you see drivers doing things like 180kmh past police cars, what faith can we have in the police.
Why do they bother to even patrol the road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi because I see this every day.


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## Free_Spirit (Aug 30, 2009)

stewart said:


> Why do they bother to even patrol the road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi because I see this every day.


to fine you if you threw your chewing gum out of the window


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## jander13 (Mar 12, 2009)

i must inform you that the dubai police is working in full capacity right now to actively dominate all the bridges in dubai with their hand radars to catch people going 5-10kms over the speed limit so RTA can pay for the ultra futuristic automatic first ever in the world urban train system, this surely takes precedence over anything else!


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## Free_Spirit (Aug 30, 2009)

jander13 said:


> i must inform you that the dubai police is working in full capacity right now to actively dominate all the bridges in dubai with their hand radars to catch people going 5-10kms over the speed limit so RTA can pay for the ultra futuristic automatic first ever in the world urban train system, this surely takes precedence over anything else!


please let me know when it happens otherwise i am not sure how long i can maintain my driving license without fine records )))


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## Fatenhappy (Jun 23, 2009)

stewart said:


> Fatenhappy said:
> 
> 
> > I
> ...


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

I was on my way home this evening with my son and got cut off by a hummer on Sheikh Zayed Road. I say a prayer each time I get in the car and once I reach my destination. It upsets me to see people in their gas guzzlers cutting off sedans and other regular cars and thinking that they are unbreakable. It seems like the fancier or larger your car, the more rampant the ego and the attitude that you own the road. 
I remember a couple of years ago, there was a lady driving to work with about 3 other passengers in her Prado or some other car and because she thought she was safe, she kept driving fast. As soon as she crossed Maktoum bridge one of her tyres hit the road divide heading into the Clock Tower tunnel and the entire 4x4 tossed over with a huge bang! It was one of the scariest sights and luckily for them, they escaped with a few cuts and bruises.
Bottom line, you are not safe no matter how big the car you drive is. It can still kill you!


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## SBP (Jan 4, 2010)

The problem as I see it is not the speeding, but the way they actually drive 1 inch from the car in front and don't indicate when chaging lanes.
If you are that close you just will not be able to react quickly enough or stop fast enough to avoid an accident.
I drive fast but always allow myself space from car in front (well do in UK as not got car here yet) but over here you leave enough gap some idiot switches lanes and goes into the gap then slams on the anchors as the cars have stopped.

They are just crap drivers


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## jander13 (Mar 12, 2009)

> Bottom line, you are not safe no matter how big the car you drive is. It can still kill you!


yeah i don't think locals have a grasp of that concept. the way they drive you would think they are operating the batmobile.


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## Fatenhappy (Jun 23, 2009)

jander13 said:


> i must inform you that the dubai police is working in full capacity right now to actively dominate all the bridges in dubai with their hand radars to catch people going 5-10kms over the speed limit *so RTA can pay for the ultra futuristic automatic first ever in the world urban train system, *this surely takes precedence over anything else!


Nothing personally matey .... forget about dominating bridges .... big deal so you give out a fine .....

You have summed their whole mentality up by quoting ...._* "i must inform you that the dubai police is working in full capacity right now to actively dominate all the bridges in dubai with their hand radars to catch people going 5-10kms over the speed limit so RTA can pay for the ultra futuristic automatic first ever in the world urban train system"[/B]*_* ... what a lot of BS ..... so money once again is way more important than lives .... hmmm .... maybe and only in this part of the world !!! ... Then again I suppose so when your 89 billion in debt and the money that feed the place is walking out the door daily ... 

There is absolutely nothing as effective as a set of flashing police lights in your rear view mirror !!! .... *


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Fatenhappy said:


> Nothing personally matey .... forget about dominating bridges .... big deal so you give out a fine .....
> 
> You have summed their whole mentality up by quoting ...._* "i must inform you that the dubai police is working in full capacity right now to actively dominate all the bridges in dubai with their hand radars to catch people going 5-10kms over the speed limit so RTA can pay for the ultra futuristic automatic first ever in the world urban train system"[/B]*_* ... what a lot of BS ..... so money once again is way more important than lives .... hmmm .... maybe and only in this part of the world !!! ... Then again I suppose so when your 89 billion in debt and the money that feed the place is walking out the door daily ...
> 
> There is absolutely nothing as effective as a set of flashing police lights in your rear view mirror !!! .... *


*

Totally agree with you. Unless they start removing licences it is just a revenue collection exercise*


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

SBP said:


> The problem as I see it is not the speeding, but the way they actually drive 1 inch from the car in front and don't indicate when chaging lanes.
> If you are that close you just will not be able to react quickly enough or stop fast enough to avoid an accident.
> I drive fast but always allow myself space from car in front (well do in UK as not got car here yet) but over here you leave enough gap some idiot switches lanes and goes into the gap then slams on the anchors as the cars have stopped.
> 
> They are just crap drivers


Yep, driving over the speed limit isn't the cause of most accidents, it's driving too fast for the conditions.

If drivers concentrated, used proper lane discipline and kept a safe distance from the car in front, speed wouldn't be so much of an issue. It works perfectly well on the Autobahns.

Unfortunately, the roads here are filled with people who don't understand breaking distances or why they should be in the furthest lane to the right unless they're overtaking someone. Tailgating and undertaking wouldn't be a problem if people did this.


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## Fatenhappy (Jun 23, 2009)

Gavtek said:


> Yep, driving over the speed limit isn't the cause of most accidents, it's driving too fast for the conditions.
> 
> If drivers concentrated, used proper lane discipline and kept a safe distance from the car in front, speed wouldn't be so much of an issue. It works perfectly well on the Autobahns.
> 
> Unfortunately, the roads here are filled with people who don't understand breaking distances or why they should be in the furthest lane to the right unless they're overtaking someone. Tailgating and undertaking wouldn't be a problem if people did this.


Absolutely .... :clap2:


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## Free_Spirit (Aug 30, 2009)

stewart said:


> As it is I do not know why people are in such a hurry to get to work.
> Geting home I understand, But To Work.....?


I was driving on Emirates road this morning... Way earlier than I need to be at work, but 140 km/h... It's not work, it's adrenaline from fast drive... Can't help it...


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## jander13 (Mar 12, 2009)

> Nothing personally matey .... forget about dominating bridges .... big deal so you give out a fine .....
> 
> You have summed their whole mentality up by quoting ....* "i must inform you that the dubai police is working in full capacity right now to actively dominate all the bridges in dubai with their hand radars to catch people going 5-10kms over the speed limit so RTA can pay for the ultra futuristic automatic first ever in the world urban train system"* ... what a lot of BS ..... so money once again is way more important than lives .... hmmm .... maybe and only in this part of the world !!! ... Then again I suppose so when your 89 billion in debt and the money that feed the place is walking out the door daily ...
> 
> There is absolutely nothing as effective as a set of flashing police lights in your rear view mirror !!! ....


that is exactly what i was getting at anyway, it is all about money they actually want you to go over the speed limit so they can fine you. if they were to implement harsh penalties for speeding then people wouldn't speed which would diminish their income. i have seen many times locals driving around 180 km/h and cameras flashing on them, some of them have so much money they probably consider it an expensive highway where they can speed as much as they want. 

there needs to be harsher punishments besides just financial penalties for speeding but as gavtek mentioned reckless driving is almost more of a problem than speeding.


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

jander13 said:


> that is exactly what i was getting at anyway, it is all about money they actually want you to go over the speed limit so they can fine you. if they were to implement harsh penalties for speeding then people wouldn't speed which would diminish their income. i have seen many times locals driving around 180 km/h and cameras flashing on them, some of them have so much money they probably consider it an expensive highway where they can speed as much as they want.
> 
> there needs to be harsher punishments besides just financial penalties for speeding but as gavtek mentioned reckless driving is almost more of a problem than speeding.


Bring in a better loss of points system which has previously been spoken about on this thread. Money does not matter if the licence is going to be lost due to losing to many points. At the moment the black point system is a joke, no points awarded until 60kmh over the speed limit 
It works in other countries.

Here is one example of an Aust system;
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/rsc/demerit/demerit5.htm#RTFToC6

Below you can find the thread for the UAE system;
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...39-traffic-violations-fines-black-points.html


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Would they really take a head family emirati's license away who in reality prob owns most of the vehicles that all of his family drives, children, wives, and everyone else? I would like to be the fly on the wall when someone goes to talk to him and says since he has so many tickets, the are removing his license.... bet that wouldnt go over well.


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## jander13 (Mar 12, 2009)

> no points awarded until 60kmh over the speed limit


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

Laowei said:


> i understand how you feel fatenhappy, i was in India on business a few years ago traveling by car, we hit a trafic jam and slowly went past a police officer flagging cars to slow down, just passed him was a child lying uncovered and dead, my drivers comment was oh dead boy and then carried out as if it was a dead animal. Made me feel totally sick and couldnt wait to leave the country still see the image of the poor kid now.
> 
> I lived in China until recently and driving standards there are unbelievable bad, as a comparison i find the driving standard here is more down to arrogance than lack of skill, where in China its down to both arrogance and lack of skill. Quite a lot of the service station areas outside of Shanghai have huge information boards with horrifically graphic photographs of accidents and the victims of accidents. Just one look at the impact of a high speed accident on the human body and how easy ones head can be seperated from the rest of the body should be enough to slow people down, but i guess the arrogant tendancies would soon rise to the surface.
> 
> As a side point as a newbie to Dubai i rented a small toyota Corrola for a month or so, and found i was constantly getting cut up by some [email protected] in his big 4x4. When i bought a car this experience pushed me to buying a car which is a lot bigger than i usually would buy purely to have the comfort of being higher up and with a little more substance around me and my family. I hope that in a few months i can maintain my good mannered driving and not become another [email protected] in my big 4x4.


Hi Laowai, I am also a waiguoren  I lived in China too until recently. Where were you? I was in Shanghai

Understand totally what you mean about the driving in China, although I think it is bad simply because no one has ever taught them to drive, at not until recently. Also the Chinese culture is so different, it's almost as though they don't see the pedestrians, and I mean that literally. Kind of the same thing as when you're walking down the street and they walk right into you as if they didn't see you. 

I also totally agree with about it just being arrogance here. The video posted on this site a few days ago says it all. No one in China drives like they do here. 

I really don't know what the solution is. Unfortunately, as you pointed out, it is arrogance, and people that are arrogant are usually the last people to be willing to change their ways. Even if there are thousands of pleas by authorities, police, whatever to slow down, pay attention to the road, stop cutting people off, etc. etc. people like that are unlikely to stop and self analyze what they do because they either don't think they're part of the problem, or they think the rules don't apply to them. Or they think they're such great drivers that they will never have an accident

I find in general, in all countries I have lived in, that overall the standard of driving has gradually gotten worse. People are far less courteous and there seem to be way more aggressive and rude drivers out there. I'll just continue to smile and count to 10 and thank them for that adrenaline rush next time I'm cut off by some [email protected] in a 4x4


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

Ella_and_Yousef said:


> I was driving on Emirates road this morning... Way earlier than I need to be at work, but 140 km/h... It's not work, it's adrenaline from fast drive... Can't help it...[/QUOTE
> 
> Sure you can - just look at the speedometer and slow down!


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> Yep, driving over the speed limit isn't the cause of most accidents, it's driving too fast for the conditions.
> 
> If drivers concentrated, used proper lane discipline and kept a safe distance from the car in front, speed wouldn't be so much of an issue. It works perfectly well on the Autobahns.
> 
> Unfortunately, the roads here are filled with people who don't understand breaking distances or why they should be in the furthest lane to the right unless they're overtaking someone. Tailgating and undertaking wouldn't be a problem if people did this.


In theory that might work, but not sure I agree with you about the Autobahns & speed. There have been some horrific chain reaction accidents there, with several people killed in one incident because of the high speeds. You're right that if people understood braking distances speed wouldn't be an issue, but most don't, or if they do, they ignore it. And even then, there are always people who drift over in front of you suddenly from the lane beside you, or even 2 or 3 lanes beside you. So it's a moot point about the speed I think


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

nola said:


> In theory that might work, but not sure I agree with you about the Autobahns & speed. There have been some horrific chain reaction accidents there, with several people killed in one incident because of the high speeds. You're right that if people understood braking distances speed wouldn't be an issue, but most don't, or if they do, they ignore it. And even then, there are always people who drift over in front of you suddenly from the lane beside you, or even 2 or 3 lanes beside you. So it's a moot point about the speed I think


My point about the speed is that even if people do stick to the limit, there will still be horrific crashes as the ultimate cause of the crashes will still exist. By going slower, you just reduce the chance of death ever so slightly. 

Remember, the speed limits aren't scientifically calculated to be the optimum safe speed, it's a round number in a "yeah that'll do" line of thinking. There are times when doing 80 in the fast lane on SZR will be unsafe.


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## Free_Spirit (Aug 30, 2009)

Gavtek said:


> There are times when doing 80 in the fast lane on SZR will be unsafe.


80 on the fast lane of SZR is fatal :nono:


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

When will people realise that the outside lane is not the 'fast lane' but the 'overtaking lane'? The roads would be safer if people drove in the correct lanes. I am sick of seeing cars driving in the middle lane of SZR when the inside lanes are clear. 

-


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## Free_Spirit (Aug 30, 2009)

Elphaba said:


> When will people realise that the outside lane is not the 'fast lane' but the 'overtaking lane'? The roads would be safer if people drove in the correct lanes. I am sick of seeing cars driving in the middle lane of SZR when the inside lanes are clear.
> 
> -


they will never get it, as i mentioned before, people think that if they are on the left lane they will reach faster )))


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

The left lane here should in theory be the overtaking lane. But on the drive to Abu Dhabi I find that the left two lanes are the crazy crazy fast lane that one prob shouldnt stay in if they dont want to get smashed. Those people who are trying to prove a point that others should slow down are brave souls! Either that, or they are just crazy dumb to be passing in the left lane going 125 around the other person going 120.


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Elphaba said:


> When will people realise that the outside lane is not the 'fast lane' but the 'overtaking lane'? The roads would be safer if people drove in the correct lanes. I am sick of seeing cars driving in the middle lane of SZR when the inside lanes are clear.
> 
> -


It even worse when the driver is so indecisive of which lane they want so they just line the center of their car up with a lane marker and take two lanes.


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> My point about the speed is that even if people do stick to the limit, there will still be horrific crashes as the ultimate cause of the crashes will still exist. By going slower, you just reduce the chance of death ever so slightly.
> 
> Remember, the speed limits aren't scientifically calculated to be the optimum safe speed, it's a round number in a "yeah that'll do" line of thinking. There are times when doing 80 in the fast lane on SZR will be unsafe.


Yes, understood that and I agree completely. I'm just saying I didn't agree with you that having no speed limit on the autobahn works. There are always people there who don't follow a safe distance behind, and there are always people in the fast lane when they shouldn't be, and people in the slow lane when they shouldn't be. In an ideal world, everyone would be alert, would travel the proper braking distance behind the car in front, would drive in the proper lane, change lanes only when safe, blah, blah, blah, and in that scenario, travelling at high speed might be OK


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