Your Guide to a Self-Drive Holiday in Dubai

[Nancy Ahuja]

Choosing to rent a car during your business trip or holiday in Dubai is a great way to explore Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates at your own pace. However, you want to make sure you are well versed with the local rules and driving culture.

Especially if you have come to Dubai from a relatively quieter city or a suburb, you will find that driving here can be quite an overwhelming experience. Regardless of how experienced you are as a driver, when driving in a foreign country, you want to make sure that you are familiar with the local rules and style of driving. For example:

- Hand gestures in Dubai are rather uncommon and it is best to avoid making any enthusiastic gestures to prevent misinterpretation.

- Remember that Dubai has a ZERO tolerance law against drinking and driving. You could get into severe trouble even the next morning when traces of alcohol can still be detected.

- Follow basic rules just like you would back in your home country. For example, using the cell phone while driving is illegal, do not run a red flashing light and do not leave pets or children unattended in your car.

- If you plan on slowing down dramatically, you will want to use your hazard lights to alert other drivers.

- When the fog gets dense during the winter months, local drivers in Dubai tend to still rely on hazard lights instead of the fog lights.

- To overtake other vehicles on the left and right you can use both lanes.

- Remember that the speeds in Dubai are typically calculated in kilometers not miles. Speed limits are usually 40km/hour on small suburban streets, 60 to 80 km/hour on main roads and 100 to 120 km/hour on highways.

- When renting a car with any company, make sure you enquire about the Salik card that is essentially a prepaid toll card that you may need to drive via various sections of the Sheikh Zayed Road.

- If unfortunately, you meet with an accident, call 999 or 112 for help. Make sure that you do not leave the scene of the accident without the green police issued slip indicating that the accident was not your fault. A red slip means that it was. Without this slip you cannot make any insurance claim.

- Traffic light signals are different in Dubai from most other parts of the world. While green still means go, a flashing green means slow down since the light is about to change. Amber means you should not be passing through the lights and red means you need to stop.

- Roundabouts are rather common in the city. When you are turning left, make sure you stay in the left lane to avoid any confusion for the other drivers.

While searching for hotels at Sheikh Zayed Road before your travels, remember that you will have to cross this arterial road multiple times a day during your self-driven trip. Consider investing a Friday morning, when the traffic is light to test drive along this road to familiarize yourself with the local way of driving before you explore the rest of the city.

If you are looking for top hotels In Dubai, the author of this article recommends BookBestRate.com.

photo: Shutterstock/Kotsovolos Panagiotis