Rules of the Road in the Middle East

Very nice post.

I can add a rule too: there are no rules except YOUR rules.

Oh, came up with another one: be bold, be brute and be strong or you will never survive.

That's not any of the Arabic countries, that's Indonesia.

The same traffic rules apply here in Brazil too, except for No. 7. Traffic signals here are completely ignored because Brazilian drivers have absolutely no idea what they mean. Furthermore in the major cities like São Paulo they stop working during even the slightest rainfall.

We also have an 11th rule!

11. Drive with your headlights turned off during hours of darkness, to maximize the pure terror it will inflict upon other motorists and unwary pedestrians.

Extremely good post to release stress with reality...  Once taxi driver ever told me "Madam, in this country only God and the driver who know where's metro mini(public bus) gonna makes turn" oops!!! So not only happened in UAE, exist in indon as well.

This post is about typical Saudi Arabia driving. We in Bahrain have a much more peaceful driving life.

Note: I did not say driving in Bahrain was "better"; just said "much more peaceful" - its all relative.

We in Bahrain stay indoors on weekends, when drivers from across the border come over for their fun and frolic.

Farhaz wrote:

This post is about typical Saudi Arabia driving. We in Bahrain have a much more peaceful driving life.

Note: I did not say driving in Bahrain was "better"; just said "much more peaceful" - its all relative.

We in Bahrain stay indoors on weekends, when drivers from across the border come over for their fun and frolic.

Lol! I hope it wasn't me you saw driving one weekend, last time we crossed there from Saudi Arabia. After my hubby crossed the border I am in charge of the wheels.

MysticaUK2009 wrote:

Farhaz wrote:

This post is about typical Saudi Arabia driving. We in Bahrain have a much more peaceful driving life.

Note: I did not say driving in Bahrain was "better"; just said "much more peaceful" - its all relative.

We in Bahrain stay indoors on weekends, when drivers from across the border come over for their fun and frolic.

Lol! I hope it wasn't me you saw driving one weekend, last time we crossed there from Saudi Arabia. After my hubby crossed the border I am in charge of the wheels.

Certainly not. I stay indoors ... Remember

Hope you all had a great time

The Chinese even have an expression for this kind of driving:
"Rushing to be re-born"

I call it the French style of driving, when drivers concern themselves only with what's going on ahead of them. One of the bravest things I ever did in my life was when driving around a multi-lane traffic-circle in Paris (Arc de Triomphe? could have been). I entered it in the middle lane at the standard ninety miles per hour - 150 k - and nobody would give way to me when I tried to ease into the exit lane. After going round three or four times I twigged to the trick. Next time round I flicked on my indicator, flattened the accelerator to the floor until I was up to maybe a thousand kph and was marginally ahead of the car in the next lane, and just cut across. He hit his brakes instantly, and so did the others between me and the exit, and - voila!

Also, c'est la vie.

I love France and the French and everything about the place; but they're a bloody-minded lot!

alert, cautious and confident driving is requied otherwise trouble might be waiting for you.

I did one of these in the China forum a while back.  It was hilarious.

It was deleted because "some members might not understand" it.

No one understands Saudi driving - not even the Saudis.

Would this post also get deleted?

Farhaz wrote:

Would this post also get deleted?

We should start taking bets.

Now it will.

Sure does look very likely now ...

Another few -

A Kid in the lap of the saudi while driving is the additonal safety feature and is called as 'Saudi Air Bag" 
Mobile phones shall only be used while driving.
Only driving should be fast, rest everything in the world is lazy/slow.
Insurance - whats that

saimans wrote:

Only driving should be fast, rest everything in the world is lazy/slow.

Not all are fast and rash drivers in Saudi Arabia. I have come across so many huge American cars that do 40 kmph in the fast lane of a three or four lane highway in Saudi Arabia? Only thing one can do if stuck behind one of these sloths is to 

Sign stripes on the road are for decoration, not to divide in lanes.
The function of the mirrors are only to make the car bigger not to use it
On or off direction no needed, you just do it, even it makes that you a few centimeters in front of another car.

Primadonna wrote:

Sign stripes on the road are for decoration, not to divide in lanes.
The function of the mirrors are only to make the car bigger not to use it
On or off direction no needed, you just do it, even it makes that you a few centimeters in front of another car.

This sounds like every country I have ever been to.

HAHA! Hilarious and unfortunately very true.