I am very disturbed by the seemingly nonchalant and dangerous driving habits of motorists in Dubai. Every day, my husband and I drive from our accommodation in Dubai to Jebel Ali and back.

What I find appalling is the way drivers behave on the road, especially on Shaikh Zayed Road. In my personal assessment, the most dangerous areas of Shaikh Zayed Road are the Trade Centre roundabout, Al Safa Interchange, and the area near Al Barsha. Some of the major accidents happen in the above-mentioned areas and I have witnessed them, too.

The ratio of safe to dangerous drivers may be 2 to 10, with 2 being dangerous drivers. However, considering the range of distance being travelled by these two drivers, there may be hundreds of motorists who may be potential victims of their irresponsible driving.

Driving behaviour is primarily due to one's attitude and personal values. A reckless driver may not value his own life as much as other people do. This can be observed in the statistics of most road fatalities. Most of them are young and carefree people.

I would like to illustrate some of the dangerous driving behaviours I have observed. Every day, I note at least five vehicles swerving between lanes along Shaikh Zayed Road. Regardless of the speed that the general traffic moves at, some motorists drive as if the road were a jigsaw puzzle.

One wrong move from an innocent driver could cause his or her car to be hit by a reckless motorist, who we can assume would be driving fast enough to overtake several vehicles on a wide highway.

Drivers who are usually cautious and keep a safe distance from the car ahead are usually the victims of such behaviour. The reckless motorists do not even use their indicators in such a case, so that the other drivers cannot know of their intentions.

Crossing the prohibited solid yellow lines is a common occurrence around Dubai. I believe the law prohibits motorists from driving beyond the solid lines on a road. These lines are there for safety reasons. Unfortunately, I have seen many instances of violations on this rule.

Driving towards Al Maktoum Bridge, all lanes are divided by solid white lines. However, one would see many impatient drivers crossing them nonchalantly.

Finally, the most obvious issue is speeding. All vehicles are obviously capable of travelling at high speeds as they have been tested to endure this. However, there are several factors which may cause this process to fail and cause road mishaps.

There is a possibility of slippery roads, solid debris on the road, pedestrians running across the highway, tyres bursting and unsafe distance between vehicles. Driving at high speed and then the sudden slamming of brakes can be extremely dangerous. The vehicles behind may not stop fast enough to prevent a collision. The worst case scenario would be if the driver behind you accelerates instead of braking, in a state of panic.

There are more such dangerous ways of driving that I have personally observed but cannot enumerate all of them for practical reasons.

­- The reader is an auditor based in Dubai.

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