Dubai: Lives are being put at risk every day by poor standards of driving on the city's congested roads. More than 30 per cent of traffic accidents are caused by poor road etiquette, a senior police official said.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Yousuf Al Muhairi, Director of the Deira Traffic Department, said violating traffic rules is the main reason behind gridlocks.
Police said an example of poor etiquette was seen yesterday after a crash near Dubai Marina. Motorists were reversing to get on to the main road to avoid getting stuck in traffic. This worsened the situation.
"The most common offence is blocking traffic in the yellow box. Motorists enter the yellow box even when it is not clear. This blocks traffic from all directions," he said.
Lt Col Al Muhairi said other bad habits that add to the problem include tailgating, overtaking from the right, overtaking from the hard shoulder, lack of lane discipline, slowing down to watch accidents and refusing to clear the road in case of a minor accident. He said this shows a lack of respect for other road users.
Adam Kechil, an advance driving trainer, said accidents just do not happen, they are always caused. The main reason is bad driving and lack of road manners. He suggested that driving schools should revise their syllabus to keep up with the current driving needs in Dubai and should also educate trainee drivers about road manners.
"There is a need to be educated on the consequences of bad driving," Kechil said.
Are you a victim of poor driving etiquette? What are the most common issues you face? Or are drivers well behaved in comparison to other big cities around the world?
Your comments
To avoid accidents, always use the indicator.
Ems
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 12:37
Motorists will never learn to drive safely and respect other motorists. So the best way for the authorities to teach these bad motorists, is to confiscate their driver's license aside from the penalties being imposed. There should be no exemptions.
Maria
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 12:36
Everyday we see road offenders but the worst are the ones without patience especially if we are unable to give way when in the fast lane and they keep honking and flashing lights.
Nevin
Khorfakkan,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 12:21
The adverse point is a lack of concern, courtesy and patience. If these are developed within the drivers then there would be NO ACCIDENTS, NO RISKS and NO CASUALITIES.
Mujeeb
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 12:16
The police should conduct intensive patrols in "covert" vehicles (concealed lights and sirens) and pull over and fine traffic violators on the spot. Persistent offenders should be banned and should be made to take driving lessons being allowed back on the road.
Rodger
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 10:56
In my experience, in order to get some sort of respect on Dubai roads you should have expensive car.
Hassan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 10:36
The worst drivers are those who use mobile phones while driving, as if there is no one else on the road.
Chinnu
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 09:54
I find I have to use my brakes often to avoid bad drivers who do not use indicators whenever they want to switch lanes.
Tom
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 09:53
Respect is the key to minimize accidents. Drivers should also think of the others when they are on the road.
Juan
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 09:49
I often see private vehicles are parking on loading/unloading areas for taxis. This is probably why passengers cannot flag down these taxis because of the blockage.
Dexter
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 09:29
Dubai's drivers are the worst I have ever encountered. Most are discourteous and the rest don't understand the road signs! In my opinion, impatience and arrogance are what causes a lot of the accidents we see on a daily basis.
Smith
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 09:15
Many drivers don't even that the "white line" at every junction means they must give way. Because of this, I've seen many unnecessary accidents/traffic jam especially in service road junctions near schools.
Matthew
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 08:59
I have faced a lot problems, mainly with lady drivers who do not seem to know the roads very well.
Anees
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 08:15
Exceeding the specified speed limits, not maintaining enough safe distance from vehicles ahead, changing the lanes without using indicators and changing the lanes in the last moments are the major traffic violations which I have been seeing almost everyday.
Srinivasa
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 07:25
Another bad habit that I have noticed is people with more expensive cars driving like they own the road.
Karkain
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 07:09
The other day I was backing up, there was no one behind me when I started. The next thing I knew another car had come up behind my car and the driver was honking the horn because he needed the parking space and could not wait ten more seconds for me to finish.
Davina
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 06:54
The worst offenders are the people driving luxury cars and 4 wheel drives. Most of these people think it is their inherent right to get the right of way. Also, the most common violation is speeding.
Vasuki
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 06:41
Trainings are of no use if drivers do not change their attitude.
Ibrahim
Cabanatuan City,Philippines
Posted: September 24, 2007, 06:41
Most drivers in UAE do not care about pedestrians. In fact, they increase their speed the moment they see someone crossing the street.
Shaw
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 06:23
There seems to a a culture of selfishness in the way we drive in Dubai: I MUST GO FIRST. NOW!
It causes blockages and it causes death. It's utterly arrogant and selfish and counterproductive.
In the report about using the Hard Shoulder on Ittihad Rd recently one of the respondents said he had to do it because it shortened his journey by 20 minutes. NO IT DOESN"T. It lengthens everybody's journey including yours.
If we would learn to drive with respect for each other and discipline - as they do generally in say Canada or Germany - our lives would be more pleasant and safe and we would not need to build another road for 20 years - there's more than sufficient already.
Both the Quran and the Bible teach respect for others - how can we be good Muslims and Christians and still drive the way we do here? I'll bet the same is true for Hindus.
Martin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2007, 02:54
