Visitors to UAE can drive privately owned vehicles provided they hold international driving licences, but insurers are refusing to cover their accidents.
The deadlock has created enough confusion for thousands of visitors to warrant an intervention by government authorities.
According to Dubai Police, they have no problems with motorists driving their relatives or friends' cars.
Police officers said that they see no reason why insurers should make an issue out of the system if the policy covers any one driving the vehicle.
"Insurers should have no say in the legal status of the driver. They have to accept the driver's license if he is authorised to drive on the UAE roads," one officer said.
The visitors themselves are bewildered about whether they can drive private cars of friends and kin.
To add to the confusion, insurance companies stoically refuse to pay the claims if these visitors meet with an accident while driving a private car. "You are only allowed to drive a rented car and not a private car," is the routine refrain they get after approaching insurance officials for accident claims.
A local insurance company source, however, said they were abiding by the prevailing traffic regulations which forbid visitors from driving privately owned cars.
"As per traffic laws, visitors, regardless of their nationalities and the source of their licences, are not allowed to drive in the UAE unless they have international licence.
"Even the holders of drivers license from countries that accept UAE licence have to get an international document to drive in the UAE. In addition, they are restricted to driving rented cars," the source said.
The police, on the other hand, beg to differ.
Brigadier Mohammed Al Zafeen, Director of Dubai Police Traffic Department, said: "If a person visiting the country has an international driving licence or those from a country accepting the UAE, he can drive a private car.
"There is no law that bars visitors with international driving licence from driving here, and there is no law that forces them to drive cars hired only from rental agencies."
The officer said if an insured vehicle gets involved in an accident, insurance firms cannot refuse claims even if it is a private car being driven by a visitor holding a valid licence.
According to Aqeel Mohammed Bukesha Al Zarouni, a lawyer, visitors can drive private vehicles if they possess international driving licences, but have to produce documents proving they are visitors.
Al Zarouni said insurers have the right to refuse claims, but the claimant can complain against them.
Legal provisions notwithstanding, residents and visitors indicated there was a wide gulf between the rule book and the reality.
M. Ali, who had to pay for repairs of his friend's car he was driving while visiting Dubai, said: "It seems there is some 'internal agreement' between rent-a-car companies and insurance firms, which forces visitors to drive hired vehicles. This boosts the business of car rental agencies."
Zafar Iqbal, a businessman, stood firm against an insurance company when it refused to pay a claim for an accident involving his son who visited him in February. "After the accident, police handed insurance claim papers without hesitation. If it was a violation wouldn't they have fined my son for the offence?"
Iqbal said the insurance firm at first refused to accept the claim, but agreed to pay up when he cited Federal Traffic Law No. 21 (1995), which says international driving licence holders can drive vehicles while visiting the UAE.
"Insurance firms are fooling people who don't know the rules," he said.
Whose crash is it anyway?
Dubai Police says that visitors to Dubai may drive both private or rental vehicles if they hold either an international driving licence or a licence from countries accepting the UAE driver's licenses. The visitors can drive vehicles and file insurance claims in case of accidents regardless of who the vehicle's owner is.
Several insurance companies contacted by Gulf News said they don't provide insurance claims if visitors, even those with international driving licences, meet with an accident while driving a private vehicle. They could not, however, quote any traffic rule to prove the point.
