The screech of tyres as you desperately pump the brakes...the sickening sound of crunching metal and shattering glass...if you've ever been in an accident you know what I'm talking about...and if you are a fellow Dubaiite, chances are you've experienced this first hand. I could invent some statistics here, or just look them up on the Internet i guess...but let's be honest...I don't care that much. All I know is that there seems to be a disproportionally high amount of accidents and fender benders here in DXB and I think I've been stuck in traffic behind most of them!
I've had my share of near misses, scratches and yes, of course I have had my share of accidents...and even caused a couple bumps myself. SORRY SORRY!! I have to explain that I learnt to drive in Dubai so it wasn't really the easiest training ground and I've only had a few very very minor accidents and I swear I never hurt anyone...unless that parking post had feelings...
Now the reason I bring this up today is that once again I narrowly escaped a potentially major accident today...apparently some people here think its acceptable to turn left on a RED LIGHT, into oncoming traffic, ie: me and the car just ahead of me. Let me also point out that this wasn't someone trying to squeeze in on the yellow or anything. The light for us had been green for our direction for at least 10 seconds when this person in a massive 4x4 decided to turn left on their red light to enter the Dubai Mall entry...a real smart decision on their part wouldn't you say?!? I don't get it, where are people learning to drive like this!!!!!!!!
Now at the risk of sounding a bit discriminatory (and I really am not I swear) I have found there are two major groups of people who have a total disregard for others on the road. First you've got the locals driving their massive Patrols and Range Rovers driving like a bat outta hell ready to run you over if you inadvertently get in their way...they own the roads and they want you to know it, now get the hell out of their way!!!!! Now for a little disclaimer here I actually really like all the Emiratis I have met and they are not all bad and yes i am sure its a very small group of bad drivers giving them a bad name. I have even had a local guy offer to park my car for me when i was faced with a little difficulty squeezing my own large 4x4 into a very tight parking spot a few weeks ago and it made my day! All I am saying is for your own safety watch out, especially if they are young drivers, I've noticed they tend to get... shall we say...a little overzealous on the speed...
Second, yes, I am going to say it, please don't hate me, but we all know its true here...indian/pakistani drivers. OMG!!!!!! I mean if you have been to India it all makes sense, of course they don't know any driving rules...cause there are none there!!!!!!! Who doesn't think 3 lanes really means 5 lanes plus a tuk-tuk, a motorcycle and everyone breaking for a random sacred cow on the road! I mean really, is it truly a surprise that they think its ok to make a U-turn from the outside right lane...seriously I cannot even explain how many times I have almost had an accident because of things like this. so again, watch out :)
Now, I really didn't mean to sound discriminatory, its just a fact of life here...so much so in fact that the Dubai government has deemed that if you are immigrating to Dubai and would like to exchange your home country's drivers license its not a problem, if you're North American, European or Australian that is. However if you are immigrating to Dubai from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc than you have to take 12 weeks of driving lessons before you can obtain your new license...I'm serious.
And if an accident does occur, welcome to the land of rubber-neckkers. All of a sudden cars slow to a crawl to stare at the tragedy. If there is any construction site nearby you'll also get hundreds of workers suddenly appearing and taking pictures of the gruesome scene on their mobiles...I have never seen anything like it!!!
All in all I have been lucky; I have narrowly missed being smashed into by a large concrete truck that swerved through 3 lanes of traffic while entering a major road from a semi-hidden construction site (also not a rare occurrence due to all the crazy construction sites here!). I have almost smashed into a gas truck when he blew a tyre and suddenly started swerving across five lanes of highway traffic on Sheikh Zayed Road, yes ladies and gents, a large 'kiss your ass goodbye' gas tanker -I thought I was a goner! And finally today my near miss collision due to one of the most idiotic or impatient drivers I have ever come across!
Luckily my mom always told me bad things come in threes so I am hoping that I am tapped out for the year. Wish me luck boys and girls!
PS: Just a little friendly warning if you are new to Dubai, NEVER EVER, and I really mean NEVER flip the bird to a local unless you want a short ride to the nearest police station followed by a flight home and a lifetime UAE ban. It's a huge offense and generally not a great idea if you catch my drift.
Until next time...Drive Safe ;)
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