Find out which of your habits irritate others the most

Handicapped parkingspaces serve people with specialneeds and should be usedresponsibly. But some 4,975drivers only learned this factafter being fined by Dubai Policeduring the first seven months ofthis year.

Some drivers just can’t be botheredto wait even half a second — to letyour car pick up speed — when thesignal turns green. Respondents saidthey also hate it when “people flashtheir headlights to bully other carsout of their way even if there’s no freespace in the second lane.”

Residents can walk to their cars with grocerytrolleys. But walking a few metres back toput the trolleys in their rightful place provesburdensome for many. Respondents said theyoften see people leaving trolleys at parkinglots which could cause dents and scratchesto cars of unsuspecting drivers. A staff of apopular grocery store told Gulf News he comesto collect “misplaced” trolleys at parking lots atleast 10 times a day.

A visit to densely-populated residential and commercial areas like Naif, Deira, or Bur Dubai can drive motorists mad as pedestrians rule the road. Many cross at will without bothering to check for oncoming traffic.

Each parking space is enough for alight vehicle, whatever its size. But residentssaid there are those few who straddle twospaces at once and don’t bother to parkproperly. Figures from Dubai Police’s TrafficDepartment reveal that some 2,639 driverswere caught abusing parking spaces byusing two parking spaces at once during thefirst seven months of this year. Police fined4,627 violators in 2012 while 5,628 fines wereissued the year before that. The violationcomes with a Dh200 fine and three blackpoints.

There’s no other way to ruin a goodmood than to find a car blocking your wayin a free parking area. Many residents optto park in sandy parking areas becausethey are free. But the lack of organisationin the free space often causes themheadaches and delays.

Almost half of the respondents agreed they always see people jumping queues in the city. Dr Afridi said such behaviour can be attributed to residents’ lack of education or lack of exposure to organised city living. She said it could also be because some people see themselves as superior to other residents.

“There are a lot of working-class people here from many parts of the world that didn’t really have such organised structure [back home]. Second is entitlement. There is this sort of unspoken “I’m better than you” mentality among some people in Dubai,” she said.

Although respondents said they seldomsee this happening, the habit is still wayup their list as it seems some residentsfind it hard to understand the purposeof garbage chutes. “In my building, theyjust leave their trash outside the chute.Liquid often leaks out of the trash bagwhich makes the hall stink and becomesticky,” an irate resident, who declined tobe named, said.

Many residents expressed their disgustover mindless littering which they said is a dailyoccurrence. This observation is mirrored by figuresfrom Dubai Municipality where 3,641 residents andestablishments have been fined for the first eightmonths of this year. In 2012, the civic body issued5,752 fines and 5,757 fines in 2011. On average,some 15 people or companies are being finedbetween Dh100 to Dh50,000 for littering everyday.

Spitting on the streets is also a major concern.Municipality has fined 309 people for the first eightmonths of this year after penalising 544 in 2012.