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Road Rules and Traffic Regulations in Emirates - Driving Nuances
1. A large number of roundabouts is one of the main features of roads in the United Arab Emirates. Foreign drivers often find it hard to overcome crossroads with circular movement, but you just need to remember one simple rule - the cars that move in the circle have the priority. This priority is given by default; drivers will find out other rules about crossroads from corresponding road signs.
2. In settlements, the maximum allowed speed is 60 km/h (if there are no other restrictions). On highways you can drive with the speed of 100 km/h. Just like in many other countries, there are many radars and cameras on the roads in the United Arab Emirates. They are used to control the speed limit and punish the drivers who exceed it.
3. The speeding fine is rather large and depends on the level of excess. The minimum size of the fine is 100 dirhams. There is quite a strict law about speeding in the emirate of Ras al Khaimah. Here, the violator will get not only the fine, but will be also punished by whipping.
4. In spite of severe penalties, there are many drivers who exceed the speed limit and break other rules. However, such severe penalties certainly have their positive impact on local drivers. For example, once the “whipping” punishment became valid, the number of accidents on the roads of the emirate fell by 20%.
5. Dubai remains one of the most comfortable cities for motorists in the country. There is an electronic alert system for drivers here, and it works perfectly. Electronic scoreboards, installed on the roads of the city, inform drivers about the current state of roads, helping them to plan the optimal route. An interesting fact - electronic scoreboards may be installed not only on the main roads of the city, but also on small roads.
6. Drivers, who have never travelled on the roads of the UAE and who plan to do that for the first time, are recommended to purchase a special CD-ROM that contains the detailed information about the country's roads. If in Europe these discs have been available for a long time, in the United Arab Emirates their production and distribution was started only now.
Nuances of Car Rental in Emirates
To save on your rental, we advise to book your car in advance. You will save the most if you do this several weeks or even several months prior to your trip. Rental offices in Emirates usually raise rental prices over time, based on the number of cars left available for the accounting period.
When looking for an exotic car (cabriolet, minivan or limousine), we advise to check in the rental offices located at airports, as they usually provide much wider choice comparing to offices in urban areas.
Upon receipt of invoices, bills and documents for your car at the rental location, please compare the obtained data with your voucher. Quite often, employees of rental offices in Emirates try to add optional charges or services without informing customers.
It is very important to pick up your car at the rental office in Emirates in a correct way. Prior to leaving the office, carefully inspect the car for various defects, and ensure that all the discovered defects are mentioned in your rental documents. In case of a non-compliance found, place a demand for correction to the rental officer.
You can always check our car actual rental offers in Emirates. Simply use the search form at the top of the page. We guarantee that you will not find better prices anywhere else!
8. The majority of parking lots in large cities of the UAE are paid, and the cost of the service is approximately 2 dirhams for one hour of parking. At the entrance to such parking lots there is always a barrier and a special device that gives tickets. The payment is made when you leave the parking lot, so make sure you have the ticket received at the entrance.
9. The local police do not have the right to impose fines right on the spot. All the fines should be paid in the Traffic Police Department. In no case should drivers offer money to the police. Here such actions may be considered as an attempt to give a bribe, and you can be imprisoned. Drivers should also remember that certain types of traffic violations have the driving license suspension as a punishment. You will get your driving license back once you pay the fine. It is also prohibited to argue with the police. This way you will only make the situation more complicated.
10. Driving without license is considered one of the most serious traffic violations. In addition to the fine of 1-6000 dirhams, the offender will face a prison sentence of one to six months.
11. We simply cannot forget to mention good quality of local roads. All the roads in the country are well-organized and maintained. Virtually all large crossroads have traffic loops, thanks to which it is possible to turn right, escaping the traffic light. Such numerous small improvements make driving a lot easier and save a lot of time for local drivers who do not need to stand in endless traffic jams.
12. The system of penalties in the United Arab Emirates is also quite specific. The police stops the driver only if he has committed a serious violation (for example, has passed a red light or has driven on the opposite lane). In this case, the penalty bill will be given to the driver right on the spot.
13. If you have committed a small traffic violation (talking on a cell phone while driving or driving without fastening the seat belt), the driver is unlikely to be stopped by the police. He will even not receive the bill by mail. Drivers remember about all the violations they have committed during the yearly obligatory technical inspection. During the year, all the violations are recorded in the traffic database, so drivers receive one bill for all the violations they made.
14. Foreign guests may be a bit surprised by quite an unusual location of road signs. In the UAE, they are installed directly at the crossroads, so drivers, who are not familiar with local roads, have almost no time to think about a maneuver. On the other hand, foreign guests will be pleased with the fact that vast majority of road signs are duplicated in English.
16. Despite fast traffic, the distance between cars rarely exceeds 4 meters. If there is an accident on the road, most likely, at least three cars are involved into it – because of the small distance between cars drivers simply have no enough time to react.
17. Despite the fact that right driving is officially accepted in the UAE, the concept of hindrance on the left is widely known in the country. This peculiarity of local roads causes much confusion among foreign drivers, who are used to the concept of the hindrance on the right.
18. The choice of parking must also be performed with great care. Cars, left on the wrong place, are often sent to penalty parking. It is possible to get the car back from such a parking only after paying a fine (about 50 - 75 dirhams). If you had parked the car and then noticed that the car disappeared, you should call the police using the number 999 and clarify to what parking the car was brought.
19. In case of an accident, the police must be called using the same number. It should be noted that the police must be called even in case of a minor accident with minimal damage because the police issues the accident certificate that is then used to get the insurance coverage.
20. The perimeter of some crossroads has yellow markings that remind motorists of another important rule. If there is a traffic jam right after the crossroads, it is forbidden to move forward even if the traffic signal allows that.
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