Some Western drivers truly do in Dubai as Dubaites do

I keep reading and hearing about driving in the Emirates. Debates rage over who is the worst driver by nationality.

And by virtue of the population mix of the UAE - where almost half the population is Indian and the majority South Asian - scathing comments are made about the driving abilities of my compatriots.

To be fair, most of them are true.

Statistically, Indians and South Asians would be the worst traffic offenders. Ability-wise too, they do not seem to have great driving skills. Intelligent driving seems to be off the menu while it appears defensive driving is an unheard of term for them, yes?

But are we missing the woods for the trees?

We notice the one bad driver, but completely miss the 100 decent ones. India is a country of extremes. The bad is really bad and stands out as does the good.

The West, on the other hand, is more homogenous in terms of individual human abilities. Their numbers here too do not make them stand out.

But if you divide the number of offenders from say the United Kingdom or Sweden from the number of British of Swedish resident in the UAE, theoretically, Britons or
Swedes could emerge as the worst traffic offenders, right?

As the phrase goes: "Lies, damned lies, and statistics".

Driving is a cultural thing. The rules of modern travel were formulated in the West.

In the East, it was more of getting from Point A to Point B in either the shortest [if you were going to meet your lover] time or the longest [if you were going to work].

How it was done did not matter as long as you stayed in one piece and others did the same. Fortunately, that has changed.

But what has not changed is the quality of instruction given here.

The majority of nationalities have to go through "classes" and "tests" here before they can get a driving licence. Instructors themselves are mostly those who have
had to take training here to get a licence.

If drivers who have received their UAE driving licence after classes here are the worst offenders, it says something about the quality of instruction and instructors
here, doesn't it?

By the way, my wife received her training in the UAE and Canada, and despite the fact that the children buckle up and hang on to whatever they can latch on to when
she is driving, I do admit she is a better driver than I am.

That aside, I have been in the UAE a long time and I have done my share of bad driving and seen my share of bad drivers - Asian and Western. Some of the latter
truly do in Rome as Romans do.

I remember a Westerner in a canary yellow top-down Jeep Wrangler, who swept up behind me with flashing lights. The growl of revved up engines told me that I did not
deserve to be on the road and should make way for his highness.

When I did manage to change lane [earlier blocked by a car on the right], he hurtled past me, gesticulating wildly and mouthing what I assumed were obscenities.

He, however, did restrain himself from the unspeakable physical gesture involving the middle digit.

I waved bye, bye.

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