Is this Gotham City?

The main north-south highway in Dubai is Sheik Zayed Road (SZR to the cognocenti), named for the father of the county who pulled the six independent emirates together to form the UAE in 1971. (Prizes for the first who can name the seventh emirate which joined the union later.)  SZR originates just across Dubai Creek from our temporary residence and runs all the way to Abu Dhabi (150 km south).  It bisects the Dubai Financial Center, skirts to the west of Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, bounds Internet City, Telecom City, and Dubai Marina before passing through Jebel Ali on the way south.  At its widest through the DFC, it is five to seven lanes in each direction, yet the high-rises crowding each side impart a canyon feeling.  The architecture is so futuristic, we've both commented that it wouldn't surprise us to see the Batmobile, or perhaps Han Solo easing the Millenniuim Falcon into a 30th story landing dock.  There are plenty more similarly fantastic buildings in Internet City and the Marina.

These images were snapped on a recent Friday morning on our way to church (yes, those are permitted here), hence the sparse traffic.  Most times of the week it looks more like LBJ, except it's moving.  So far, we've discovered at least four groups of drivers.  Approximately 40% of the cars at any time will be cruising along right at the speed limit, which for the entire length of SZR within Dubai, is 100 km/hr (62 mph).  This is because there are radar cameras about every kilometer.  The police seldom if ever stop a speeder; they just compile the data from the cameras and then, when you go to get your license renewed or turn in your rent car, voila!, there's a little multi-thousand dirham bill for you.  It's a pretty effective "pay to speed" system. 

The speed limit-driving motorists would be very happy and all arrive at their destinations unruffled were it not for the 30% "working class" drivers who putter along (usually in a small truck) at 20 or 30 km below the limit in the lane of their choosing, having the exact same effect as large boulders in the middle of a swift mountain stream.  My theory for the consistent behavior of thes drivers is threefold: 1) they are all from third-world countries and have never seen nor had experience driving such magnificent highways; 2) on their wages, speeding tickets would render financial ruin; and 3) the jobs these poor saps have to look forward to when they arrive at their destination means that the journey is the best part of their day...why hasten its end?

The third group (at least 20%) is the taxis.  This town has as many as New York.  Taxi driver behavior is the same the world over.  Just watch out for the little cream-colored vermin; they'll cut you off in a heartbeat.

The fourth group is the 10% Bentley, Mercedes, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, Audi, Range Rover (have I left any out?) crowd.  These drivers can be divided into two sub-groups; the locals (a.k.a. Emiratis) and the Asian ex-pats who have gotten rich enough here to afford the same cars.  They drive like they own the road (which I guess in the case of the former, they technically do), especially the left lane, and all others are trespassers.  I have observed some truly impressive demonstrations of speed in obscenely expensive automobiles (do you catch a hint of envy?).  Both sub-groups have enough money that speeding fines don't even make a dent in petty cash.  The natives have the additional advantage of being able to call their well-connected father/uncle/brother/cousin and find out later that all those annoying and surely undeserved violations have mysteriously disappeared.  It is imperative to continuously keep a keen eye on the rearview mirror for this crowd, especially when you're in the left lane trying to get around a boulder.  Their disregard for fines also takes all the fun out of that time-honored practice in Texas of falling in behind a faster-moving "rabbit" and using him as a shield.  Here, the rabbit is getting pinged every half mile, he just doesn't care; and by the time you find out you got pinged every time he did, it can be a big bill.