We have two kinds of morons on our roads. First is the type that use the 2nd fastest lane (they usually have light trucks or mini-busses, painted white) and they drive 40% slower than people on either side of them. This is very unsafe since it creates an island, and drivers have to overtake from either side. Obviously under-taking is illegal, but when the road is busy, many drivers do it. Sometimes you have no choice. My friend was once penalised (fine + points) for undertaking in the UAE because the car in front of him in the fastest lane would not move. Seriously, Police, you should fine the people who do not understand the concept of land discipline. We need to educate people, starting with the Police. You cannot apply a rule without understanding it first, no?
Anyway, back to the first type of morons. What happens when you have an island of traffic in the middle of the road is that it just confuses everyone and is a huge hazard. The Police recently published some publicity about honouring drivers who have not had a single penalty in the last 50 years. Have you seen the roads in the 1980s and before? Not a single radar. Not a single traffic jam. No wonder, there are no fines. Then these folk are probably too old to drive now and yet have a driving license (there is no maximum age law in the UAE), and most do not pass driving/eyesight tests to drive. Anyway, I criticise the Police, they need to look at all aspects of driving and not just focus on speeding or the use of a seatbelt. Oh yeah, the demographic of this first group of morons are the ever-popular Indian Subcon people, as demonstrated in the picture above taken from India (image credit: Picasa)
The second type of Moron is he who drives in the fastest lane and yet is the slowest driver. I won't waste much time on this, because it's obvious how dangerous that is. Sadly, as mentioned above, the Police do not penalise them and penalise those who overtake from the wrong side (undertaking) to move forward. These people usually become non-responsive if you use your high-beam to indicate your need to overtake, or your horn. They usually have stickers written in Arabic on the back of the car, and they are usually Emarati with a driving IQ between that of a goat and a 13-year old dog.
(image credit: here)
Note that we have minimum speed laws on the motorways here, but no one is aware of them, especially the Police. If they are reading (doubt many of their types can read English), then please note and take action. We're a laughing stock to the world, we have the best roads and the worst drivers and a lack of smart policing.
10 comments:
nice article and a good illustration of your point of view, the only thing I don't like is talking about some Emaratis in refrence to low IQ levels!
if you want to show your frustration better not to get to sarcastic conclusions, ok people behave bad yes but that has nothing to do with there IQ it is a matter of social behaviouer only.
salam ya Jassim
thanks for your comment and welcome welcome.
you're right, that was rude, and i have corrected it.. i meant that it's the driving IQ and not the actual mental IQ. some of these drivers must be very smart and successful but drive very badly and as you know the death rate on our roads is the biggest indicator for that.
hope to see more of you here :)
I agree with your blog ... and what is it about the lane adjacent to the fast lane that attracts those drivers that just want to "sit" there and annoy the crap out of everyone else?
So what brought forth all this?
3la fikra you should consider yourself lucky that you have the world class top quality roads....in Egypt we have shit drivers and appalling roads
Dave, welcome.
You make a super-valid point.
I believe the reason people hog the 2nd lane is simple. Coz they don't know better. Most of them come from 3rd world countries that only have 2 lanes in each direction. The slow lane in their country is the 2nd lane from the left, and as thus that's where they hang about. They don't care about the loads of space to their right because that is outside their scope, it's like a separate street, or for trucks or just a wide shoulder, or perhaps a mistake on behalf of the RTA or engineering firm!
SiSi.. people here can't control their cars. it's like having a 2 year old drive a ferrari.. of course u get disaster. most people have 6 or 8 cylinder engines with 200+ horsepower as standard.. just to give you an example, your typical car in the UK has about 80 horsepower or less.
i like lebanon because the roads are worse than egypt but they really know how to control their cars.
btw, the reason i wrote all this is general frustration, and an increasingly impotent police force. also, i am dreaming of a job in the police traffic dept to clean up this mess (yeah, my job isn't going too well)
This is true...the Lebs are great drivers but you really think their roads are better? You've never been outside of Cairo then mon ami....
BTW I think you'd make an awesome cop!
You hit the nail on its sweetest spot mate. Driving habits says a LOT about one's true character and culture. The 3 weeks I was in the UAE -- if there was one single thing that bothered the devil out of me, you got it, the driving habits / culture!
Idiots on the fast or the second lane (from the left) @ 60kms/hr and 'Ignoranus' weaving past you at 160 kms/hr constantly flashing at ya or driving at grandma-snail pace! It's like drive at 60 or 160 -- not many folks follow the rules or are considerate, should you wish to change lanes. Have you tried indicating to change lanes and the 'Ignoranus' (who's a mile and half behind you) starts speeding and flashing those beams?! How super rude and shamefully inconsiderate huh?! Or the honking as soon as the traffic lights switch from Red to Amber! OMG I just wanna get out of my car and strangle the Ignoranus!
Jee...writing down a few thoughts raises the blood pressure. Time for that Valium shot! Keep supplies in your car whilst driving. It helps :)
Yes, I agree BuJ, you'd make a fantastic cop!
duh.. where'd my comments go?
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