Driving in the UAE for Dummies

One of the main things that people complain about here in the UAE is the traffic/crazy drivers. When we lived in the States, Steve was constantly berating me for my aggressive driving. When we moved here, he told me to go for it. There is nothing passive about the roads here.

After living here for almost 3 years I have come to the conclusion that driving in the UAE is a defensive activity. In the U.S. driving is mainly an offensive endeavor. As long as you are paying attention to your own actions in most cases, you will be fine. Here that is not the case. I have found that there are certain vehicles/individuals that you MUST steer clear of. In fact, I have compiled a little list of the people/things that you should avoid:

1. FJ-Cruisers.

2. Any car that is worth more than my house (there are a lot of those here).

3. Taxis.

4. Large SUVs driven by tiny women.

5. Cars with heavily tinted windows and sunscreens over the windshield while in motion (this is no-brainer…..and yes, it does happen here).

6. Any vehicle with yellow and black arrows on the back of it.

7. White Lexuses (any model).

In my experiences, numbers 1, 3, and 4 apply internationally.

As a footnote, I would like to say that I for one hate generalizations like this. I don’t imply if you drive one of the above vehicles that you are a bad driver……I just have had bad experiences (on several occasions) with them.

I know several people that actually refuse to drive out of fear here. And I do admit that there are times that I am a little nervous (especially in certain areas), but I have driven in worse places and in more challenging situations (driving ambulances in Washington, D.C. comes to mind). At least here I don’t have to worry about the driver next to me having a gun.

I had a conversation with an Egyptian woman who lives here in the UAE once about driving. If anyone thinks driving in the UAE is crazy, they should check out Egypt. Some of the stories she told me were unbelievable. In Egypt when you turn 18, you simply get your license in the mail. No one is required to go through driver’s education or pass a test. This made me wonder how many other third-world countries have the same licensing process. Since about 70% of the population here is from these third-world countries, it’s no wonder that people don’t stay in their lanes, watch where they are going, or use their signals.

The thing that makes me the most mad in regards to driving here is watching individuals from Western countries (who know better) do stupid things. For example: There is a four-way stop in our neighborhood (the majority of inhabitants are expatriates from Western countries). It seems that many of my neighbors have forgotten what the word STOP means (even though the sign is written in English and Arabic). I actually had a man honk his horn at me the other day when he ran his stop sign and came very close to hitting my car. This blonde, blue-eyed stranger then rolled down his window and told me in a perfect English accent that I was crazy! This whole when in Rome attitude really does drive me bonkers.

As we count down to our move back to the U.S., there are certain things that I come across every day here that make me sad about leaving the UAE (like the weather and good friends), but there are also things that I will not miss at all (like the crazy drivers).

P.S. Someone remind me of this post when I have been back in the States for a while and I start complaining about crazy D.C. traffic/drivers!!!!!!