Drivers using two-car trick to beat Sharjah-Dubai border traffic

Dubai: Of the several routes that connect Dubai with Sharjah there is one which is quite unique and not often heard of.

It is not much of a road but a crossing used by a few hundred smart movers, who would do anything to beat the traffic that is synonymous with regular routes between Dubai and Sharjah.

During morning peak hours, when thousands of cars on Al Ittihad Road, Mohammad Bin Zayed Road or some of the other routes connecting Sharjah with Dubai are moving at a snail’s pace, a few motorists quietly sneak across the border between the two emirate in Al Mamzar.

Though the authorities have blocked the access across the border with steel poles and rocks, motorists have found a way around it.

A Sharjah Police spokesperson said that the authorities are aware of the practice by motorists but as long as the vehicles are not parked in undesignated areas they are safe.

“We know that a lot of people leave their cars in Mamzar and walk across to Dubai. We don’t have any problem as long as motorists park their cars in sandy areas with proper access,” said the spokesperson.

A trip to the extreme end of Al Mamzar, where the two emirates meet, will show dozens of cars parked on either side, and one would wonder where are all the people and what are they doing in this isolated area.

Wait for a few minutes, and one can see people parking their cars and walking across to the other emirate.

During morning peak hours people park their car on the unpaved area on the Sharjah side and walk across to be picked up by other drivers or drive away in their own car parked on the other side.

Abdul Aziz, an Emirati living in Sharjah, has been doing this to beat the traffic for a long time.

“This is the best and only way to avoid traffic early in the morning. I own two cars, one I keep on the Dubai side and one on the Sharjah side. In the morning I park my car on the Sharjah side and walk across to Dubai for just a couple of steps and then drive away in my car parked in Dubai. It takes me just 15 minutes to reach my office in Al Hamriya area of Dubai,” said Abdul Aziz.

For most people who take this route there is no better way to save time and avoid the stress of the Dubai-Sharjah traffic.

“I have been doing this for four years. I live in Al Taawun area of Sharjah and if I take Al Ittihad Road I have to start early and it takes nearly 90 minutes for me to reach office. But if I cross through Mamzar I don’t have to start early. My work starts at 9am and I start from home at 8.40am and reach office in 20 minutes,” said Abbas, an Iranian.

People from as far away as Ajman resort to this novel way of crossing to save time and stress.

“I live in Ajman and it takes me around 90 minutes from Ajman to Dubai but through this route I save around 45 minutes. I got to know about this route through a colleague a few months ago and I have been using this since then. I’m more relaxed and there is less stress since I have starting taking this route,” said Ammar, a Syrian.

Though most people who use this route to cross the emirates own two cars, there are some who are even smarter.

A few of them have their cars parked in Dubai and they are dropped off by their spouses at the border. They then walk across and drive away in their car. There are also those who take a taxi to the border and then drive away in their car, while there are also some who are picked up by office vehicles.