United Arab Emirates

Health & safety

Dangers & annoyances

As elsewhere on the Peninsula, the main danger is bad driving. Many drivers in the UAE don’t seem to have a concept of other cars, and courtesy on the road simply does not exist. People will cut in front of you, turn without indicating, and race each other on freeways. Out of the cities, the inner lane is for speeding luxury vehicles only – block them at your own risk as speeds of up to 200km/h are not unusual. Drivers have a tendency to zoom into roundabouts at frightening speeds, and try to exit them from inside lanes. Pedestrian crossings are no guarantee that drivers will stop or even slow down. Watch out! As per other Peninsula countries, if you have an accident, even a small one, the car must remain in situ until the police arrive and make a report. The only exception to this rule is in Dubai, where the crazy traffic means that anything blocking a road constitutes a major hazard. If you have an accident here, pull over to the side of the road and wait for the police.

Although many of the beaches in the country look calm, they often have dangerous rips. If you are swimming at an unpatrolled beach (no public beaches are patrolled), be very careful. There are regular reports of people drowning, particularly at the beaches in Dubai.