# Driving is it really that bad on roads??



## zovi (Jul 5, 2012)

Reading all these posts about driving in Dubai and how dangerous it is and office there's a crash people are too scared to touch you so you'll die (they don't want blame) is this even the medical professions, surely they help out ??

It's making me really worry, I had a bloody nightmare that I died in car crash


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Driving standards are shockingly bad - stay out of the fast lane, and don't expect people to indicate. However I have lived here many years and spend most of my day on the roads and have never had an accident. Just one minor rear bump at a junction.
As for the rest of your question - load of rubbish.
I prefer driving in Dubai than the UK. IF you get into trouble on a 3 lane motorway there is nowhere to go to get out of the way of a crash. Give me 6+ lanes anyday.


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## KkiL (Aug 18, 2012)

not really bad as long as u know how to drive
sure its sometimes rash and the speeds are usually over the limit, lol
but on the other hand u do have people driving like 80 year old grannies
so ur fine to drive as long as ur aware of ur surroundings and drive at reasonable speeds


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## KkiL (Aug 18, 2012)

wandabug said:


> Driving standards are shockingly bad - stay out of the fast lane, and don't expect people to indicate. However I have lived here many years and spend most of my day on the roads and have never had an accident. Just one minor rear bump at a junction.
> As for the rest of your question - load of rubbish.
> I prefer driving in Dubai than the UK. IF you get into trouble on a 3 lane motorway there is nowhere to go to get out of the way of a crash. Give me 6+ lanes anyday.


haha, I really dont understand y people dont use their indicators as much as they use their high beams......lol


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## zovi (Jul 5, 2012)

What is the speed limit out there? It's 70 mph in UK and obviously most do 80/90mph :-s 

What kind of speeds we talking here in Dubai? I'm quite a confident driver but the way some people talk about it it's like you will just be hit and no people will help you which is the worrying part if u did have a major accident


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## mgb (Sep 6, 2008)

zovi said:


> What is the speed limit out there? It's 70 mph in UK and obviously most do 80/90mph :-s
> 
> What kind of speeds we talking here in Dubai? I'm quite a confident driver but the way some people talk about it it's like you will just be hit and no people will help you which is the worrying part if u did have a major accident


Improve your odds in an accident by buying the biggest heaviest 4x4 you can afford. Choose one with a spare tyre on the tailgate, this absorbs quite a bit of the energy in a fast rear shunt (we've had two people hit us - one going 50kph faster than we were, and have walked away with just a little bit of whiplash).
ALWAYS wear your seatbelt here, most locals don't and that skews the injury/death figures a bit.


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## KkiL (Aug 18, 2012)

speed limits vary from 40-60 on single and dual lanes
80-100 on three lanes
100-120 on 5+ lanes
jumeriah and wasl road r exceptions, having 70kmph as limits
if u get hit, 1000000000 of people will help u
anyone from a labourer to a doc will help u, but unfortnately the rumor that u cant help someone has gotten so bad that expats usually r scared to help
when police arrive, they will ask the witnesses if they saw what happened, and might ask them to give an official account of what happened
thats all
too much misconecption about people not helping


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## KkiL (Aug 18, 2012)

mgb said:


> Improve your odds in an accident by buying the biggest heaviest 4x4 you can afford.


what r u trying to say?
if u check safety ratings, most cars have a better safety rating than a 4x4
the only advantage of a 4x4 is that u will have lesser car body damage in a smaller accident

if ur hit from the side in a car, ur car will spin around
if ur hit from the side in a 4x4, chances of it rolling over are very high

so buy the car with the highest safety rating that you can afford, not a 4x4


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Zovi, pretty much everything you read on this forum will scare you. Accidents do happen and some are quite severe but from reading the Daily Mail every day, I see a lot worse happening in the UK. Comparatively, Dubai is by far much safer in many aspects.

Read away, but don't let what you read here completely affect your decision to move to Dubai and experience it in reality or give you nightmares.

Drive safe, know your limits and be aware of the morons driving around you and you should be fine. But please do not go 60kmph on an 80kmph road because you will in fact be endangering yourself and your fellow passengers as there will be impatient people who want to drive 120kmph on that same road and will cut you off, not in a good way.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

pamela0810 said:


> but from reading the Daily Mail every day, I see a lot worse happening in the UK.


LOL, you will do if you read the Daily Heil. Not exactly a good reference point for life in the British Isles 

For the OP, I had a huge complex about driving prior to coming here. I still don't like it but do it every day. I think the UAE has the worse record per head of capita anywhere. I saw 2 crashes in the UK in 21 years of driving. My first six months in the UAE I think I saw 3 jaw dropping, "FFS", type crashes you only see in action movies.

However, you have to drive here to get around so the good news. Dubai - AD road and Emirates road to Sharjah are by far the worst. Dubai isn't *too* bad if you keep your wits about you. I had a talk with mate who rides a motorbike and he said as a biker you have to learn to read the road more, be more attentive and try to 2nd guess all those around you. I've kind of adopted this practise and it's done me all right so far. 

Just keep looking ahead, using your mirrors a lot more than you normally would, be wary of people pulling out of junctions in front of you and if you see potential trouble makers safely get out their way. It's daunting but after a while you see patterns emerging and you get used to confident driving here.

You will still encounter a penile replacement GMC truck inches from your back bumper, flashing and sounding their horn at 130 kph, despite the fact you have nowhere to go but, hey, don't be such a misery guts and go down the beach, yeah.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

mgb said:


> Choose one with a spare tyre on the tailgate, this absorbs quite a bit of the energy in a fast rear shunt


My friends Pajero was shunted while waiting at at red light, the person behind was texting rather than looking where they were going. They were a bit shock up obviously but only had minor scratches to the rear of the tyre holder, while the idiots bonnet was concertinaed right in.

I'd also advocate getting a large 4x4 for safety reasons, not because of statistics or whatever, but similar to the racism here, people treat you differently and respect you differently depending on what car you drive. 

If you don't believe me, drive a Lancer or Yaris to Abu Dhabi and back and then do the same in Land Cruiser or Pajero. You still get idiot tail gaters and flashers but nowhere near the same amount.


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## INFAMOUS (Apr 19, 2011)

All you need to know is the following:

If you are a confident driver that can successfully check blind spots, look for brake lights ahead and monitor what is going on around you naturally with the ability to drive offensively you will have NOTHING to worry about.

If for any reason you are a "nervous" driver who feels flustered when you can't do a lane change or feel like you can't keep up with your surroundings or don't have very much experience driving.... you WILL either cause an accident or be victim to one....


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## s&s (Apr 9, 2012)

I drive to AD everyday for work from Dubai.
Keep out the fast lane if you can, only use it for overtaking.

But generally it's a nightmare regardless of which lane you drive in. And I'm a confident driver.
It's difficult to anticipate what all the other drivers are going to do because there are so many different 
Nationalities here and have a different driving culture.
Eg. Driving home from AD to Dubai 2 days ago , a guy in the fast lane slams on brakes, comes to a dead stop. 
He missed his exit so he starts reversing, in the fast lane, on a 4 lane highway! How do you anticipate that move??

So, regardless of whether you're a nervous or confident driver it's imperative that you expect the unexpected! 
And you will be amazed at what you see.


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## KkiL (Aug 18, 2012)

s&s said:


> I drive to AD everyday for work from Dubai.
> Keep out the fast lane if you can, only use it for overtaking.
> 
> But generally it's a nightmare regardless of which lane you drive in. And I'm a confident driver.
> ...


u will always find idiots everywhere, but that doesnt mean the roads are full of them
how do u anticipate the idiot slamming his brake, by keeping safe distance from the car in front to allow u to slam ur brakes if needed
thats how
plus I'm sure that guy checked behind him before slamming his brakes


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

zovi said:


> die (they don't want blame) is this even the medical professions, surely they help out ??
> (


Well maybe the laborer will stop, but you are correct that most in the know, which includes those in the medical profession will not. If you try to help and the person dies anyway there are too many bad things that can happen. I commuted with someone in the medical profession and she basically said she (and everyone she knows) will not stop to help an accident (like I said it did not make her feel good, but better than losing her life savings because she tried to help)


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

INFAMOUS said:


> All you need to know is the following:
> 
> If you are a confident driver that can successfully check blind spots, look for brake lights ahead and monitor what is going on around you naturally with the ability to drive offensively you will have NOTHING to worry about.
> 
> ..


Partly correct; being confident and driving offensively will ensure _you_ dont hit someone, but it wont stop the guy texting behind you banging into you


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## s&s (Apr 9, 2012)

Right kkil

A safe following distance is absolutely necessary.
However, slamming on brakes and coming to a dead stop in the fast lane and then reversing is not ok! 
Did I say IN THE FAST LANE!!!??? And reversing, so even with a safe following distance, what to do??

Oh, I must be a nervous driver. *eyes rolling*


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

KkiL said:


> how do u anticipate the idiot slamming his brake, by keeping safe distance from the car in front to allow u to slam ur brakes if needed
> thats how
> plus I'm sure that guy checked behind him before slamming his brakes


Yes i am sure he was very considerate and braked to a complete halt in a freeway to reverse only after checking no one would hit him. 

Most people have no idea of "minimum braking distance", and that is why if you keep a safe distance, anything from 1 to 4 cars will squeeze into that space...


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

If you drive with both hands on the steering wheel (that 10 o'clock/2 o'clock thing) and look wide eyed then people will mess with you. 

Drive with left hand on the steering wheel (at 12 o'clock), right elbow resting on that little box in between the 2 front seats, shoulders relaxed and make sure you have a very angry look on your face and no one will bother you.


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## s&s (Apr 9, 2012)

That's excellent! Love it!


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## zovi (Jul 5, 2012)

Lol thanks for all replys, luckily I'm quite a confident driver  

It's just the one thing people always mention about Dubai.

We'll have a new Audi q5 and an a1 so quite solid cars... 

God I'm so nervous tho, I'm just going to have to get on and do it, have no choice my car will be waiting at the services apartments and I start work 2 days later lol

Be living at first in greens and travelling to airport is that a bad drive?

Then thinking motor city for perm place to live 

Thanks again for all replys

Glad my husband decided to use motorbike as track bike only


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

It's an easy drive from the Greens, SZR cross Garhoud Bridge, exit right, watch out for the speed camera on Airport Road as it triggers above 80, right at the end and you're there. If you're working shifts it's a diddle, bit more of a PITA if you're Sunday to Thursday 8-3. 
You just get used to the traffic although today I did see two accidents actually happen right in front of me within twenty minutes. Strangely enough both involved Toyota Corolla's and women drivers. 
I made the 999 call for the first one as I was only around 150m behind when the driver lost control. My advice, never phone 999 unless you need to for yourself, it's a bit like talking to DU but they pick up the phone a bit quicker.


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## Confiture (Jan 9, 2011)

The 6+ lanes here are great, but passing on either side is commonplace (known as undertaking in the UK) and nobody will bat an eyelid to it.

I'm so acclimatised to the different driving style now that I worry I'll be pulled over when driving again in the UK.

Biggest difference here (for me) is the lack of awareness from many drivers.

Awareness of speed
Awareness of differences in speed
Awareness of braking zones
Awareness of other vehicles

Case in point, I had a puncture and limped into a petrol station that had a tyre centre at the rear. They could replace the tyre but had to get it from another branch so offered to drive me home.

The guy drove at 80km/h on Emirates road, one lane in from the "fast lane" with every other car / van / truck whizzing past us on both sides. About 3km from my exit I pointed to the right and said very clearly;

"Next exit please"

From his position leant forward, with hands at ten to two on the wheel he nodded; 

"Yes sir"

With about 500m to go before the exit, he flicks the indicator over and makes his move across 5 lanes of traffic (all going at least 50km/h faster than us) and I bring my knees up in front of me and start praying.

Amazingly we make the exit, although I'm sure I now know the Arabic, Hindi and Urdu word for "******". 

On the off ramp, we need to make another right, and after accepting my instruction with the same nod of the head, he "goes for it" and tries to overtake a huge quarry truck before cutting in front of it and slamming on the brakes to make the right turn.

A truck horn sounds SO much louder when it's only a few feet from the back of your head, although I muted the sound with my own screams/farts at the time if I'm honest.
I declined the kind offer for collection and Mrs Confiture took me back to retrieve my car later once I'd had a lie down in a darkened room.

The point is, anyone could have hit us at any point on the "terror drive", so treat all other drivers as idiots. If you think they _might_ do something stupid, they probably will, and he with the biggest SUV is normally right.

Oh and under NO circumstances make any other gesture to another driver who demonstrates the skill of an 8 year old behind the wheel than a toot of the horn or a flash of the lights. Any hand gestures can be interpreted as offensive to their family/country/religion and can land you in court/jail or deported.

On the plus side, fuel is cheap and you can afford to run a ridiculously overpowered V8 that makes a noise like thunder.

Enjoy!


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Confiture said:


> The point is, anyone could have hit us at any point on the "terror drive", so treat all other drivers as idiots. If you think they _might_ do something stupid, they probably will, and he with the biggest SUV is normally right.
> 
> 
> Enjoy!



There is every chance that your driver probably thinks he is a great driver, and that you are too scared and not confident
I always remember an encounter with a taxi driver who was tailgating another car at 100kph+. His response to me pointing out that it was dangerous was to laugh and say that "you all" are always scared, while "we" from race X are fearless, skilled and have "control" over our car even if they follow a car at 100kph leaving 10m.



Now of course when an accident happens these are the same ones to smile sheepishly, scratch their heads and tell the police "wallah i was driving normally, i do not know what happened"


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## Confiture (Jan 9, 2011)

This has just jolted my memory about a guy I met through a colleague at work who was beaming about his nice new car that he's just bought after he rolled his previous once in an accident.

I'm paraphrasing a little but his explanation went something like this....

"I was driving at night around 160 and this guy was going slow in front of me so I flashed the lights but he was so slow to see me and get out of the way that by the time I got to him he wasn't far enough over and so I had to swerve my car but I touched the barrier and rolled into a ditch. They are idiots, I mean I flashed like three times!!"

I'm still unsure how I managed to suppress the facepalm / look of disgust....


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## zovi (Jul 5, 2012)

Hahaha ok I'll look forward to this 

Is the Emirates road bad? As I should think we'll live motor city after temp accommodation ....


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## Confiture (Jan 9, 2011)

I drive it every day, as does Mrs Confiture with the children. Only problems we've had were on the foggy mornings in the Winter.

Yes there are accidents from time to time, but if you have your wits about you (see above) it's ok.


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## zovi (Jul 5, 2012)

Confiture said:


> I drive it every day, as does Mrs Confiture with the children. Only problems we've had were on the foggy mornings in the Winter.
> 
> Yes there are accidents from time to time, but if you have your wits about you (see above) it's ok.


Thanks  much appreciated reply


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Driving in Dubai will make you realise that the theory of evolution is a pile of nonsense.


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

Honestly, just keep away from the extremely fast/aggressive drivers out and about, and you'll be fine. Sure there will be instances where someone does something ridiculous but that's something that will happen anywhere. 

Check your ego at the door when you enter your car and let the other overcompensating individuals pass on through...


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## toneson (Jun 15, 2012)

Thanks very much.....

Started by looking at a nice little corolla..... Since reading this I'm now on duBIZZLE looking for a H3 Hummer!


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## toneson (Jun 15, 2012)

*Thanks a bunch!*

Thanks very much.....

Started by looking at a nice little corolla..... Since reading this I'm now on duBIZZLE looking for a H3 Hummer!


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## zovi (Jul 5, 2012)

toneson said:


> Thanks very much.....
> 
> Started by looking at a nice little corolla..... Since reading this I'm now on duBIZZLE looking for a H3 Hummer!


Lol  just drive over anyone then


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Read a news bit which just showed how dangerous (and unfair) life can be
Not in Dubai though but RAK;
Guy drives his car against direction of traffic, hits a car, all occupants in the other car die, and the offender gets injured...


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## streetspirit (May 12, 2011)

I drove past a guy going the wrong way up the road. Was 3 lanes and he was driving up the outside. Not even slowly. Must have been doing 100kph. Mental. Don't know how someone didn't die then. Thankfully it was very quiet out.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

What is up with people driving with the sun shade pulled across that is the roll of tint... and even worse, with the sunscreen that is like the fold out ones that you cant see anything out of! I saw this so much during Eid. SCARY.


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## yomama07 (Aug 22, 2012)

The roads in Dubai are treacherous! People do not practice safe distance driving. They tailgate. They use wrong lanes in a Round-about (Circle). The merge lanes are constructed all wrong, they slant into the main roads, rather than provide a proper length merge lane.

Sometimes there are 2 merge lanes, merging into a Single main lane. Incredibly bad road construction in Dubai. This is what happens when the Local government just hands out road projects to the highest bidder, without proper oversight or laws governing construction.

Driver etiquette are very bad. Rarely anyone will provide an indicator to change lanes. And when someone does, the person in the target lane will do whatever he/she can to cut you off so you don't get to change lanes. Why? Because they have something really horrid up their behinds. Or you can take a guess. Tailgating is the norm. In the US its a swift ticket. But Dubai Police don't like to.. you know do the manual legwork. You will rarely ever see someone get pulled over, unless they just got unlucky.

Oh and you cannot contest ANY ticket in the UAE. No such system.

Improper lane changes are very common. Fishing between lanes is also common. People have a hard time just staying in their lanes in Dubai. Granted its better than places like India or Pakistan, but come on!

Everytime you get on the road it means War. I doubt Anyone in Dubai has ever used that feature in their car called "Cruise Control". Because War is a highly fluid situation. You can't afford to slack off and relax a drive in a War? can you? 

Yeah its exactly THAT bad in Dubai. BUT, perhaps not for those who have not reached the Dubai shores from other 1st world countries. For a guy from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, they'd feel like they've entered the civilized driving society.

Oh and to get in on this whole driving hellhole, if you are asian you have to spend over 5,000 Dhs to get a drivers license. Oh and it doesn't matter if you have US driver's license or UK. If you do not have the respective passports, you are SOL. One astute reader may ask, what does a passport have to do with a driver license that one possess? The answer: Absolutely nothing. Its discriminatory practice.

So, if you feel like you are prolonging your life on this planet by NOT driving in Dubai, you actually are.  However Dubai and all the rest of the cities are not really suited for pedestrians, unlike all the other major cities of the civilized 1st world are. You can use the Metro that services are few choice routes. Get ready for classes even there. They have classes on the Metro!  haha

whew.. anyway. Enough venting.


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## jacob1234 (Oct 1, 2012)

I wan to musandam dibba i think its a beautiful place.


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