Why I hate Dubai...

Drivers. We have decent roads, mostly, though they are blighted by chaotic and incompetent planning.

A case in point. There was a smart new two-lane access road built to facililtate smooth progress from the Greens area to Sheikh Zayed Road, a very necessary alternative to the bombsite that is Interchange 5. All well and good. The morning rush generally ran smoothly and people got to school/office/shops with minimal delay.

Now, however, some numpty has decided that in order to build the Tecom Metro station, it is necessary to dig up half of this vital thoroughfare, and channel all of the traffic through a single narrow lane. The resulting jam is as frustrating as it is predictable. Worse, the signed and directed access from Interchange 5 that runs in front of Emirates Golf Club no longer has a separate junction with Shk Zayed Road, but all Dubai-bound traffic is directed to this same pinch-point. Result - every single vehicle - car, bus, lorry, tanker, taxi and van - every single one of them has to pass through the same place. No alternative. How long wil this madness last? Who knows - but the barriers and tiger tape have a worryingly permanent look to them.

There is a consequence of this ineptitude, which only serves to exacerbate an already tense situation, and that is the number of agressive, inconsiderate drivers for whom queueing is an inconvenience, and sod the rest of us. The number of cars undertaking along the hard shoulder beggars belief. Clearly, their need to get to work/school/shops is greater than the rest of us, and so the normal rules of driving and road manners no longer apply. They barge and shove to the head of the line, intimidate some law-abiding citizen into making way, and force their way in. For what? To be eight or nine cars further up the queue? To be thirty seconds further up the road - that's less time than you will wait at the first set of traffic lights you encounter! It is these people, arrogant, inconsiderate fools, the lot of them, who do most to damage the image of Dubai and reinforce its reputation for dangerous traffic.

Is there an answer? Yes. Education, and enforcement. As a nation, we should aspire to the highest standars of road safety and driving skill, not the lowest. It should be a matter of national pride, not shame. And for those unable or unwilling to conduct themselves within the rules, then what better than to delay them in their rush, a twenty minute talking to beside the road for all to see and enjoy as we make polite and steady progress on our way.