The UAE operates a strict zero tolerance policy for drink-drivers. If you are the driver of a car involved in an accident and have alcohol in your system, you face a standard minimum 30-day prison sentence, regardless of who was to blame.
Getting a cab after popular events, or outside big bars, can be troublesome.Calling a taxi might work but you’re just as likely to find yourself on hold indefinitely, told that there are no cabs available by the operator or, if you do manage to book, waiting for a car that never comes.
Often, you’re better off putting a bit of distance between yourself and the venue you’re trying to get a taxi from. A stroll 10 minutes down the road can often mean getting a cab immediately, and is less frustrating than waiting in a 30-minute taxi queue.
This may also be a time to call a private taxi. Any cab without a metre in it is illegal, but many people find these are the only reliable way to get about, particularly with the old yellow and white taxis, which rarely turn their metre on. They tend to start upwards of Dhs20, but nowhere on the main island should cost more than this, certainly travelling down town usually adds up to less-than Dhs10.
But, hotel cars often do private jobs. Rates are a lot higher than regular cabs (for example some start the metre from as much as Dhs25), but the cars are legal, and as long as you insist on using the metre, you shouldn’t get ripped off. Next time a hotel offers a private taxi, it might be worth collecting the driver’s business card for the future.
In the end, you can always walk. Downtown is small enough to traverse by foot and in the end this is probably the safest and cheapest way to get home. Just make sure you don’t get lost.
