Dubai Driving
Once you have your wife in Dubai, you'll have to let her drive. Make sure to buy something with lots of metal and plenty of airbags. 2.9 mm of rain + these idiots = 500 accidents in 3 hours; welcome to "paradise".
Season's first rain in Dubai, N. Emirates
By a staff reporter
22 February 2006
DUBAI — Dubai and the Northern Emirates experienced the season's first rainfall early morning yesterday.
The showers which soon turned into a drizzle in most parts of the emirates caused traffic snarls during the morning rush hours, throwing the road network, especially in Sharjah, in disarray.
According to the Meteorological Office in Sharjah, just over three millimetre of rains were recorded in the emirate, but puddles were evident till late evening on the streets. The traffic condition on the inter-emirate highways connecting Dubai and the Northern Emirates was so bad that it took motorists from Sharjah over three hours just to reach Al Qusais in Dubai. Even office-goers within Sharjah were delayed by over an hour. The snarls further worsened due to a number of minor accidents in different parts of the emirate. Dubai's road network also suffered from the showers, but the congestion was tackled more quickly.
The wet weather is likely to persist through the week, with a distinct chance of showers today and tomorrow, according to the Weather Office in Dubai.
The mercury also dipped slightly, down to a minimum of 16 degrees Celsius last night, and a maximum of 24 degrees expected in the day today. The weather will be settled today with light breeze and patches of cloud, and a chance of showers or drizzle in some places. The cloudy weather is expected to prevail till Saturday, according to the weathermen.
Flight information desks at the Dubai International Airport and the Sharjah International Airport reported normal operations and scheduling of all flights, both incoming and outgoing, despite the rainy weather condition yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Control Room of the Dubai Police received between dawn until 9am reports of around 500 traffic accidents caused due to speeding and poor visibility due to the rains. About seven vehicles reportedly collided on Shaikh Zayed road on the way to Abu Dhabi at 6am. Two persons suffered moderate injuries and were transferred to Rashid Hospital.
Similar accidents took place at Al Shindagha Tunnel involving a pile-up of nine cars, while another accident involving seven vehicles collided but no casualties reported. An accident also took place on Al Khail Road when the driver lost control over his speeding vehicle and overturned. He suffered from minor injuries and was transferred to the hospital for medical treatment.
Brigadier Mohamed Saif Al Zafin, Director of General Department of Traffic, called upon motorists to comply by safety measures during rain or fog or sandstorm which can cause low visibility and to take all precautionary measures during weather change even if the roads were empty.