Dodgy Taxi Driver

Dear Ashesc, Sorry you have had to go through that- it's not very common so hopefully won't happen again! It is hard when you are new here as sometimes you have to act what would be considered "rude" in your home country.... ie ignoring someone when spoken to, speaking sternly, even shouting! Basically just be polite but firm to any taxi driver who is trying his luck- never sit in the front on your own- with others in the cab you should usually be ok! (apart from this time of course!!!) Don't start a chat, don't feel you have to answer any questions- most are innocent inquiries to pass the time but some aren't.. they usually start "Are you married?" I always say Yes and to a big strong man and I have 3 kids- puts them off! Don't be afraid to speak up and say excuse me please don't talk to me, or I am busy- please concentrate on driving- or to call/ fake call your husband in front of them or just play with your phone in general. If they drive too fast tell them to slow down too! If you at ever feel in real danger call the RTA while in the cab or get him to pull over and get another cab. I've had a few things happen over the years but they are rare and you develop a radar for them eventually. I've been here for 10 years and probably had 5 slightly dodgy drivers out of the thousands of cab journeys I've taken. Be strong and confident and you should be ok. Hope that helps you a bit- don't worry about it too much and report him to the RTA hotline- there is also a confidential help line called Al Ameen if you ever feel uncomfortable about something here- as you're new you might not know about it.... http://www.alameen.ae/en/default.aspx If you are feeling a bit nervous for a while you can get taxis with lady drivers- they are available at the airport but you can book them http://dtc.dubai.ae/en/OurFleet/Pages/Ladies-and-Families-Taxi.aspx Don't worry and hope your next taxi driver is nice and polite to restore your faith :)

Girls I've only been in the country for 4 weeks so I don't even know what number to call or who the RTA is until you told me :( I know now what to do in the future. Thanks for your advise. Fair enough, don't feel bad you were obviously put in a horrible position. FYI normally cabs have a sticker on the window (usually the rear passenger windows) with the vehicle's RTA reg and the RTA number (042080808), so you can call immediately and they will know which car and which driver you're reporting

Girls I've only been in the country for 4 weeks so I don't even know what number to call or who the RTA is until you told me :( I know now what to do in the future. Thanks for your advise. erm sorry to say so, but same rules any country.

Why would you allow that? I get that you were nervous but seriously you should just get out of the cab next time OR call RTA in front of him and complain. There's no way he'd do anything dodgy if you're on the phone to his company reporting him. What he did was totally inappropriate and you should report him. That's what I was thinking - why would you allow this? Immediately you felt he'd crossed the line you should have spoken up - he will think that he can get away with this behaviour. Especially that you weren't traveling alone, there were other ladies in the car. Ditto, now he is going to hit on some poor girl out alone, because you let him think it is ok and that some girls are 'easy'. You don't sit in the front of the taxi, there was room for 3 in the back, and you don't respond when they talk to you. Just say nothing. Why is that so hard? It is teasing. You do not need to say 'dunno' or ask him why he is asking how long you have been married.....any response means he has your attention, and quite frankly he did not are about your answer, he just cared that you answered him, his mind was between his pants and nowhere in between.

Why would you allow that? I get that you were nervous but seriously you should just get out of the cab next time OR call RTA in front of him and complain. There's no way he'd do anything dodgy if you're on the phone to his company reporting him. What he did was totally inappropriate and you should report him. That's what I was thinking - why would you allow this? Immediately you felt he'd crossed the line you should have spoken up - he will think that he can get away with this behaviour. Especially that you weren't traveling alone, there were other ladies in the car.

Why would you allow that? I get that you were nervous but seriously you should just get out of the cab next time OR call RTA in front of him and complain. There's no way he'd do anything dodgy if you're on the phone to his company reporting him. What he did was totally inappropriate and you should report him.

Please report it immediately. I have just received this email from my DS secondary school. Scary! Dear Parents Yesterday I was advised by a fellow Headteacher in Dubai that one of their female key stage 3 students was subjected to a very unpleasant and disturbing incident on Tuesday of this week. As such I feel I have a duty of care to share this information with you. At 4.40 pm (i.e. this happened in broad daylight) the student concerned took a taxi home after an extra curricular activity. Thereafter the taxi driver physically exposed himself to the young girl. After dropping her off he then hovered around her home for some time. Very sensibly she took the taxi number; this will enable the police to pursue the matter further. He then left. The student was not physically harmed at all, though both she and her parents were naturally very distressed. The following advice emerges out of this very unpleasant incident: if your child takes a taxi please ask that they make a call to yourselves (or even a dummy call, if needs be), stating the taxi number and the colour of the roof. The colour of the roof is important as different cabs can have the same number, so the colour of the roof defines precisely which cab they are travelling in. Obviously this information needs to be conveyed loud enough for the driver to hear. Such incidents are clearly not the norm and should not lead to students refraining from using taxi's, however it will help to give yourselves and your children peace of mind if you were to adopt, if you do not already, the advice outlined previously. Kind Regards OMG:\:

Please report it immediately. I have just received this email from my DS secondary school. Scary! Dear Parents Yesterday I was advised by a fellow Headteacher in Dubai that one of their female key stage 3 students was subjected to a very unpleasant and disturbing incident on Tuesday of this week. As such I feel I have a duty of care to share this information with you. At 4.40 pm (i.e. this happened in broad daylight) the student concerned took a taxi home after an extra curricular activity. Thereafter the taxi driver physically exposed himself to the young girl. After dropping her off he then hovered around her home for some time. Very sensibly she took the taxi number; this will enable the police to pursue the matter further. He then left. The student was not physically harmed at all, though both she and her parents were naturally very distressed. The following advice emerges out of this very unpleasant incident: if your child takes a taxi please ask that they make a call to yourselves (or even a dummy call, if needs be), stating the taxi number and the colour of the roof. The colour of the roof is important as different cabs can have the same number, so the colour of the roof defines precisely which cab they are travelling in. Obviously this information needs to be conveyed loud enough for the driver to hear. Such incidents are clearly not the norm and should not lead to students refraining from using taxi's, however it will help to give yourselves and your children peace of mind if you were to adopt, if you do not already, the advice outlined previously. Kind Regards

I think its serious and definitely worth reporting but just in case he is new to Dubai I wanted to share that when I travelled around Asia for 9 months on my own last year, and to some very remote/poor areas, I was amazed at how direct and blunt everyone was. Men would constantly shout out "You married?" and "How much money is in your bag?" and "You are beautiful even if you are little fattish" (!!) and other rather personal questions, and when I did volunteer work side by side many of these men, I realised that often the questioning is rather innocent and doesnt carry the same heavy stigma it would in teh west. They werent always hitting on me but since marriage was such a huge, big thing it seemed fine to ask about it and if a woman was on her own, then even more reason to ask. I dont want to minimise your discomfort in anyway and Im sorry this happened, but it also marks a cultural gap and boundaries issue which is so different from one part of the world to another

Report him .. When you call the RTA there is an option to speak to somone to report taxi drivers. If this happens again, you should always ask them to stop and get out and hail another taxi.

call the police. But to be honest, you really shouldn't have sat in the front seat. You should never ever sit in the front seat of a taxi here.

Did you report him to the taxi company?