Well after our driving experience in India…definitely driving on Dubai roads is a pleasure and an experience in itself…Infrastructure is better, roads smoother, signage in place and people on the road more disciplined. Road sense and sense of responsibility is definitely higher among people here. People drive in their respective lanes and give way to you if you happen to need to change lanes urgently. Well exceptions are always there….by exceptions I mean people who are rash, overtake without indicators and have no discipline. So you have to be very alert and pro-active while driving. One thing I realized, if I follow the traffic rules diligently, half the problem is solved. So if each of us thinks similarly, driving would be such a pleasure…
If one is not familiar with the roads and correct exits, you can go on rides longer than you might have planned. I decided that if I have to reach my destination as scheduled  than Mr. GPS is going to bail me out….so our first investment after the car for getting a GPS. But as we did not get it synced at the store and tried doing it online….each time we have headed out, we have still managed to get lost….roads and exits are confusing, lanes merge and diverge any minute and at any corner and the road layouts are changing by the day due to forever increasing traffic and constructions of flyovers to accommodate them.
A few times we have got lost, the navigation system on our smartphones have bailed us out. I feel that one shouldn’t venture out alone if one is new in the city….I find it safer to drive when my husband is the co passenger. That way he keeps a track of the route and actively navigates. This way chances of losing way or making blunders is bleak. I have been nervous while on the road but I’m sure if I drive regularly I definitely will get the hang of the routes and this will boost my confidence.
My biggest achievement was, in the initial days driving from one end of Dubai to the other end, Oud Metha to Discovery Garden….and quite confidently. So covering a stretch of almost 80 Kms in a day was a morale booster for me and with minimal mistakes. I know regular practice is only going to make me a better driver…I look forward to now driving to my daughters’schools. All the hassles we have gone through trying to get a cab when we were new are now going to be taken care of. So many more Happy & Safe Driving experiences in Dubai….I look forward…