Driving in Dubai | ExpatWoman.com
 

Driving in Dubai

687
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EW GURU
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 10:57

Hi everyone and a happy New Year to you all. Newbie here...

My DH and I are waiting to hear whether he has secured a position in the Dubai office of his company. We have been told he is likely to be successful, so are starting to gather our thoughts and questions about a move across in the not too distant future. If he is successful, he will be working daily in Internet Park and I will be a stay-at-home-mum with our 2 boys under 10 in a local school.

We have been talking about cars...

How do most of you get around? Do you have your own vehicle or do you have a driver?

Do you tend to have one vehicle per family which the mum (if stay-at-home) has during the day? If so, how does your DH get to work - taxi, driver??

How is the traffic there these days? I have heard a couple of years back it was horrendous, but am wondering if it's settled down now new roads have been laid etc. Presumably if the driving is mad a bigger car might be better???

How easy is it to find places? Do GPS's work OK in Dubai or is the city still changing so quickly they are useless?

Would welcome any thoughts or experiences you have to offer on the topic of driving in Dubai and cars etc.
TIA

5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 18:49
A lot of people seem to have a large 4x4 for mum and kids, and a smaller car for hubby. I think the driving in Dubai is terrible. - not quite sure how the below posters can think it's okay! I'd just say that the longer you're in Dubai the more you get used to the lack of road rules and commonsense on the roads. Have you ever driven in Athens or Paris, Sausage? :D
12
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 18:47
A lot of people seem to have a large 4x4 for mum and kids, and a smaller car for hubby. I think the driving in Dubai is terrible. - not quite sure how the below posters can think it's okay! I'd just say that the longer you're in Dubai the more you get used to the lack of road rules and commonsense on the roads.
687
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EW GURU
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 18:42
Even though I don't like the driving and the road system here, I think I would rather drive than to entrust the lives of me and DD in the hands of a driver on a daily basis. edited by Sugarbeach on 03/01/2011 Totally agree!
1566
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 18:39
Even though I don't like the driving and the road system here, I think I would rather drive than to entrust the lives of me and DD in the hands of a driver on a daily basis. <em>edited by Sugarbeach on 03/01/2011</em>
687
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EW GURU
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 18:06
Thanks everyone, that's all really helpful information and gives me hope that if we do come, I will be able to get myself around. I think I'd feel very isolated without a car and really wouldn't be comfortable with a driver which is the path my DH was starting to head down. Now to convince him what needs to be done, LOL.
2239
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 12:16
I find the driving here fine...i dont have a 4x4 but my dh has...but personally i dont like driving a huge tank about....I have a quite small car and no one bullies me :) Most people i know here have 2 cars for the family.... I still get lost now after 3 years lol but you ll get the hang of looking out for landmarks etc you wont be lost for long.
481
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 12:00
@Sue62 For instance, I'm used to putting in an actual physical address. Here you rely on landmarks (ie Radisson Blu Deira). Google Maps here can be very unreliable and often has "landmarks" placed miles from where they actually are (even those that are hardcoded by Google).
247
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 11:55
I have no issues with driving here... its no worse than anywhere else I've driven really. We have two cars... DH has a company car and we bought a car for me. I chose a Mazda CX9 for my car for several reasons.... it is bigger than a saloon car but it isn't a monster, it had great safety ratings for my kiddies, and I think it is stylin' LOL I don't have a GPS here, its no real biggie if you get lost... you just do a u-turn as you are allowed to do them everywhere haha
3901
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 11:48
i echo what mum2girls has just said. We've been here 4 months and i love the driving..automatic is so easy a child could drive it lol. Haven't yet experienced any real traffic jams - my school run is practically deserted for most of the way. Having so many lanes on a lot of the roads helps !! I read lots of stories on here about "maniac" drivers but i've yet to notice any - they DO like to speed, don't have much patience and in slow moving city traffic will sneak into the smallest gaps lol. In a nutshell i'd say buy the biggest car you can afford, expect the unexpected, and enjoy. I find that a lot of it has to do with your own approach/attitude.Oh and remember - he who hesitates is lost lol I use a satnav - won't go anywhere without it, just get your destination up on google, bung in the co-ordinates and you're there... not really sure what Gleeky was meaning.. Mind you - actually getting somewhere for the first time is still a major challenge for me as i'm so navigationally challenged lol.Have to say i agree that if you have children a second car is essential. School buses are available but expensive and what do you do in holidays ? You need to drive pretty much everywhere here - no nipping down to the corner shop lol Tho taxis are excellent - easy and cheap. Good luck, hope all goes well
787
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EW GURU
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 11:25
Personally I would say a second car is essential particulalry in the summer. The last thing you want is to be waiting for cabs or buses in the stinking heat and humidity
1097
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 11:25
We have been here 4 months and I find driving here quite easy really! Guess it depends what your benchmark is ..... and also where you decide to live. I don't have GPS and for the first time ever I rely on a map, I find it relatively easy to find my way around here, however I did find the idea of driving on Sheik Zhd quite daunting at the begining. Dubai is a small area with 2 or 3 main arteries so it is easy to get around, signposts are a bit lacking to say the least. I have heard complaints of traffic problems, but have yet to encounter anything too dramatic. Drivers can be a bit crazy, however, driving here is probably better than driving around most European big cities Paris, Rome, Brussels. We have two cars, we don't have a driver, we had a driver in our last post and I found it restrictive, I am happy to be driving myself, never thought I would say that though. DH drops eldest to school on his way to work when he is not travelling and I drop the little one to her nursery, then I pick both of them up. Apparently the school bus network is really good here. Bigger car is certainly better, there are some huge things on the road here and despite owning a biggish 4x4, it looks small compared to a lot of what others are driving. Good Luck with having the job confirmed, I love it here so far !!
481
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 11:22
Do you tend to have one vehicle per family which the mum (if stay-at-home) has during the day? If so, how does your DH get to work - taxi, driver?? DH has a company car given to him that only he is insured to drive. We normally wait for him to come home at lunch or after work to do anything. If absolutely necessary, he leaves the car seat at home and we take a taxi. How is the traffic there these days? I have heard a couple of years back it was horrendous, but am wondering if it's settled down now new roads have been laid etc. Presumably if the driving is mad a bigger car might be better??? We only moved here 6 months ago, and I can say that traffic is NOTHING compared to traffic in Los Angeles. That being said, Sheikh Zayed Road almost always has an accident on it causing traffic to back up. But if you get to know some side roads and avoid it, you are fine. How easy is it to find places? Do GPS's work OK in Dubai or is the city still changing so quickly they are useless? It takes some getting used to not being able to plug in an address in Google Maps (or the like) and getting directions...since you are working off of landmarks, you've got to get to know where things are quickly. But once you do, I prefer landmark-based directions. But getting lost is going to be a big part of driving at first, it easily adds 1/2 hour to any trip we make for the first time.
121
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 11:08
Driving in Dubai is a nigtmare at the best of times. If you have children, then definitely a big car or some kind of 4x4, you're less likely to get bullied out the way by the maniacs. Japanese cars are cheaper on parts, more reliable etc etc. GPS systems work pretty well actually, no major hassles with them, but obviously some areas are better than others and it depends how up to date the maps are for the system you use. You learn to have eyes in the back of your head here and grow a thick skin pretty quickly.
 
 

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