Driving in the Rain

Last night, Abu Dhabi city experienced the first rain of 2008. In fact it was the first rain for many, many months. Now, to many this may seem to be an unremarkable event, but in the UAE the rain prayers started in late December, so this shower is long overdue.

The advent of rain in the capital is quite an exciting event to those who have never lived outside the UAE. Children run outside in t-shirts and play in puddles, grown men stand with their arms spread wide, mouths open, staring up at the darkening sky (whether in awe or to relieve thirst I'm not sure), and the shops start to fill up with people who feel they have to go out in the rain, but then don't really know what to do when they get there.

But there is one thing that has puzzled me since I started to experience rainy days in the UAE, and that's the driving. Ok, we all know that driving in the UAE is not the safest experience you will ever have. On any given day, from one block to the next, you can experience a combination of Formula One racing, 'granny at the wheel' type driving, and then of course there are those who cut in front of you without using any indication, probably because they didn't bother to look in the first place. It's one of the greatest bug bears in this country - people who don't use indicators. However, on a rainy day, the city streets are lit up with the constant flashing of indicator lights on cars, and this is what I cannot understand.

Many years ago when I was learning to drive, the hazzard lights were only to be used as a warning of - a hazzard. This could be an accident on the road, an obstacle that had fallen from a truck and obstructed oncoming traffic, possibly a cow or a horse which had escaped from a nearby field. But never a shower of rain! However, in Abu Dhabi as soon as the first drops start to darken the streets the hazzard lights are on, blinking away happily, unaccustomed as they are to such vigorous use.

The strange thing is that it doesn't make people any more careful when driving. They still refuse to keep a safe distance, despite the newly wet streets. They still speed towards traffic lights wondering why it takes them longer to screech to a halt when the light suddenly turns orange, then red. And then of course there's the right and left turning. With more frequency than usual, the blowing of horns is heard as cars cross paths, narrowly missing others (or not, as often happens) because with hazzard lights on, how is one to know where the other drivers intend to go? It's a bigger guessing game than usual!

Luckily, today is a weekend day so schools are off, meaning less traffic on the streets. However, if I go out driving today, I intend to keep my distance from all the hazzards around me.