One man in a white Merc, that’s all it took to finally make me SNAP! Its a regular part of driving in Dubai that people are constantly cutting you off, or changing lanes without indicating (and doing it just inches from your front or rear bumper) but today there was one incident too many.
It started as a regular, for Dubai relatively event-free, drive to work: First I was monstered by a large workers’ bus on Al Khail Road that thought it would just move over into my lane despite the fact that Madame and several other cars were already in the lane exactly where he wanted to go, then a Pajero tried to muscle his way into the queue in front of me on Za’abeel Road. These guys cruise down the queue of waiting cars looking for a driver they think will be intimidated and will let them in. The guy in the Pajero came up beside me, looked in, saw I was female, thought “Easy meat” and moved the nose of his car close to Madame’s front bumper to show he was cutting in. Wrong choice mate! This female in the V8 was annoyed already, so I moved fractionally forward to show that he wasn’t going to force his stupid Pajero in front of me. He gave up on me and moved up the queue, eventually frightening a lady in a little Nissan and cutting into the queue in front of her.
Then, coming along the road outside the Novotel a moron in a white Merc cut me off, missing me by a millimeters, it was so damn dangerous and I was furious, and it happened. My brain fused, SSNNAAPP! Suddenly there was a break in the traffic, Merc Moron put his foot down and accelerated away which was big mistake for him because I'd just had a complete brain-fade and I chased him. Yes I confess I did everything I complain about other people doing. We went through the tunnel under SZR with me right on his tail (and I mean right on his tail with Madame really growling) and as we raced up the ramp at 120 I had a moment of clarity: “For &%*^ ‘s sake, its Dubai, its 7:45am and you’re chasing a bloke in a Merc at 120kph in the peak hour traffic. What are you doing?” Yes, that’s what I thought in my flash of sanity, but did I take my foot off the accelerator? No way!
As a friend at work said later, “You're a free person, it is your right to be foolish.” This is the same lady who, when I arrived at work, was pacing up and down saying that she was going home to the US to get a gun and in the Sharjah traffic she ain’t afraid to use it!
So, that's it, I'm officially a Dubai Driver. God help us all!
Good writing style. Added you to the blogroll!
ReplyDeleteThe problem in Dubai drivers - 90% - ia that they think driving their car is a personal matter. This needs to be corrected. When you drive a car - even if you own it - in a public road where others are, it stops becoming your car, and becomes a component of the public road, complying with the 'public' system. Unfortunately, this is not the case here.
ReplyDeleteAlso, drivers here have a false sense of saftey when they are inside their cars - the leather, wood, and fine interior create a sense of saftey that encourages drivers to speed, not realizing that these components inside the car are actually a lethal weapon that will eventually cut through their bodies.
A lot needs to be done, and in addition to driving in Dubai, I also ride my Harley in Dubai, so you can imagine my blood pressure when I am on the bike!!
God be with us all, indeed.