Driving in Dubai can be a scary experience, you certainly need to adjust your driving style to cope with the conditions. We’ve all had that day when our time has come to venture out onto Dubai’s roads… which can seem a daunting task if you are not used to fast and large roads. Staying calm at all times despite erratic driving of others has to be number one. This is easier said than done. There are some very erratic driving styles on the roads that need to be avoided/ coped with.
Here’s our top tips on what to expect on the roads- the good, the bad and the ugly- and how to stay calm and safe whilst behind the wheel in Dubai.
Distance
Many drivers do not keep a safe distance – don’t be tempted to join them! Remember the three second rule – always stay three seconds behind the car in front. This adjusts for speed. You will find that you have left a safe space and someone else will sneak in and fill it- it’s going to be up to you to pull back a bit to maintain the safe space again.
There are many crashes on Dubai roads and traffic comes to a complete standstill usually on both sides of the roads- the gawpers on the other side cause tail backs there too.
Visibility
Cars with very dark windows will have very bad peripheral vision at night so make sure you allow for this. A lot of cars do not put their headlights on as the drivers believe if they can see the road that they don’t need lights- not realising the lights are also so other drivers can see them! So watch out for people driving without lights too and always use your own.
Undertaking
Under taking cars are, unfortunately a fact of driving life here even though it is against the traffic rules law. When coming off the highway or roads beware the car that could be flying down your inside. Make sure you use all mirrors and check your blind spot before you change lane or pull off on a slip road.
Speeding
You will see a lot of powerful cars on the roads here from giant 4x4s to the suped- up sporty numbers and some do like to go extremely fast… this has imporved over the years in that there are less cars doing this now than in the past- at some times the SZR used to seem like a race track but the introduction of more speed cameras and the lowering of the speed limit to 100 has really helped but there will still be the odd speed freak who drives like they are on a computer game.
Driving On The Hard Shoulder
If you have a flat tyre on the high way do not stand on the hard shoulder get behind the safety barrier- you see too many cars driving down the hard shoulder despite heavy fines for this offence. People usually do this to undertake a traffic jam or to just get where they are going quicker! On a positive note- if you do have a flat tyre, especially as a woman, you will often find cars will stop and help you out which is a lovely thing.
Headlight Flashing
Flashing your headlights generally does not mean a polite “after you” – as in the UK. It generally means get out of the way I’m coming through ready or not. Sometimes this may be the police or an unmarked car and you are supposed to move out of their way. Generally it is impatient drivers using this technique. You can avoid this by staying out of the fast lane as much as possible and also using your rear mirror a lot- you will see the speed freaks coming and can move over before they get to the flashing headlights stage. If you can’t move over it is imperative that you stay calm and don’t panic and move over only when it is safe to do so.
Lane Discipline
This seems to be non- existent in driving on the roads here. People will violently veer from the fastlane to a junction off the road at a very late moment- be ready for this. All lanes are driven in and at various different speeds and you will see 120 plus being done in the “slow” lane and 80 in the “fast” lane! There is none of the usual this lane used for over taking, pull out of the slow lane to let incoming traffic merge rule being followed.
For more information about Car Evaluation, please visit
