I’ve been answering questions on internet forums from people about to visit Dubai who have various queries about hiring cars, the road system, driving and so on.
That prompted me to think that it might be helpful to outline here some of the rules which apply in Dubai but which may be unfamiliar to visitors.
I suppose the most basic question is which side of the road do we drive on.
We have left-hand drive cars so we drive on the right.
However, in Dubai if there is a line of traffic waiting and you believe you are more important than the other drivers, that your time is more valuable than theirs, please feel free to drive on the left.
We have roundabouts on various roads. As already explained, we drive on the right side of the road, so we drive to the right through roundabouts.
This does not of course apply to self-important drivers, who may feel free to drive to the left through roundabouts.
Like many other countries we have hard shoulders for emergency brakedowns and so on.
This may be ignored if you are a driver of the self-important variety, in which case you may feel free to use the hard shoulder to get to the front of the queue.
Now to road signs.
In Dubai we use the standard international road signs with which you will be familair.
For example, a large arrow pointing right means you must go right. A red circle with a white horizontal stripe means No Entry.
However, in Dubai these may be ignored if you feel they inconvenience you in any way.
A large arrow pointing right, as already explained and as you will be familiar with, means you must turn right. A left pointing arrow which has a black diagonal line through it means you must not turn left. Often they will be used together.
In Dubai you may ignore these if you find them in any way inconvenient.
A word of warning - if you ignore the No Entry and No Left Turn signs you are likely to meet oncoming traffic head on.
On no account should you reverse, turn round and drive the correct way along the one way road. The correct course of action in Dubai is to pull to the wrong side of the road and insist that the cars driving in the correct directon squeeze past you.
We also have the internationally recognised pedestrian crossings, known as zebra crossings in some countries. Dubai’s traffic law says that pedestrians have right of way and traffic must stop for them.
Be aware that in Dubai if you stop for a pedestrian the car behind will not be expecting it and will run into the back of you. This will push you into the pedestrian, so the end result is an injured pedestrian and two damaged cars. In Dubai the pedestrian waiting at the crossing is to be ignored.
Oh, and parking. There are clearly marked designated parking spaces, No Parking signs and so on.
I hope this has been useful for people planning to visit us and drive on our roads.
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