Test Drive Part 2

So I'm back with the rules for those interested in procuring a driving license in these parts of the desert.

First, you have to get permission from your company via a letter that says you are gainfully employed and an upstanding member of the community and that you earn this much salary and could therefore, afford a vehicle.

Then you go to the local traffic police depot to open your student driver's file. This takes about the entire morning of a working week. For one, the queue of people wanting a license is impressive. You may have to elbow your way once or twice to save your place in the queue. When you finally reach the person/police at the desk, he or she wil start pointing at some road signs to which you must give the correct name. This goes on for about 10 road signs and then you are given your student's ID that allows you to study driving in the UAE.

There are no written tests and the "name-that-road-sign" is the closest you will get to a test. How this is ever checked though, remains a puzzle.

Then you get a slip of paper that tells you to come back after a month to do three tests in an actual car. That part I will share in my next post so hold on.