Driving in Dubai

After spending a mere 31/2 hours in the car today shuttling kids between school and playdates, I just have to get this off my mind. Driving here really sucks! I was literally in a traffic JAM today at one roundabout with buses, cars and trucks going every which direction. If there is one thing I'm going to leave with after living here it is being a much more impatient and aggressive driver. I was thinking today, on one of my many drives, that I have NEVER seen a police officer stop anyone for anything. The only time you ever see the cops is when they are responding to an accident. Drivers just do whatever they want, which is nice on one hand because I can go as fast as I want (and I do sometimes). But on the other hand, everyone else does whatever they want, like making their own lanes through the desert just to cut me off at the last second. You always have to check that rear view mirror to see who is going to be speeding up behind you, flashing their brights. Oh, and one more thing, the second the light turns green, if everyone isn't moving, you get cars 10 or 20 back honking. It's so annoying. I found this on my friend's blog today and I'm including it because it is appropriate after my day:

What is the worst traffic violation possible in the most progressive Middle Eastern city? Speeding excessively? Apparently not, and that’s a birthright anyway. Are you ready for the top violation possible under the new traffic system in Dubai? Drum roll… Driving without license plates on your vehicle. It turns out that running a person down, or causing a fatal accident is exactly half as bad as a operating an unlicensed car. Previous to this week, Dubai had a more lax legal code for vehicular offenders; now they have changed to laws that include a point system. 24 points in 12 months time will result in a three month driving suspension, that is unless you opt for driving school. But a lot of people might be perplexed when reading the new rules. The newspaper also listed a few of the changes. Some represent in writing what one observes after a couple days on the road here in the UAE. For example, there is no risk of losing one’s driving privilege for traveling 50 kilometers over the posted limit. Meaning that although the posted limit is 120 on the fastest section of the highway you don’t risk getting any points until you exceed 170. A fine can still be issued below 170 but likely wouldn’t from what we see/hear. Exiting from the left door of a taxi = 3 points; driving against traffic = 4 points; failure to stop after causing an accident = 6; reversing dangerously = 0; “Causing death of others” is 12 points. And the aforementioned sans license plate is 24 points. I once saw a man in a Ferrari stop just short of driving down a gaggle of Indian workers, he looked like would have cared less if he had. Because points last for a 12 month period, drivers are now only able to run two people down in a thirteen month time frame. Someone we met in Dubai recently said that after a bumper car session their five-year old son exclaimed gleefully, “I was driving like an Emirati Mom!” Kids say the darndest things.

Note: blood money might be required in addition to black points if the person run down wasn't at fault. And there are speed cameras that go off at about 140-150kms/hr but some people don't seem to care, probably because they have connections.