They Don't Walk Here

At least this is what I keep hearing here in UAE. Still I'm walking and not alone, pictureproofed.

The truth is that to walk more than 500 meters could easily make you sweat. When it is 35 or more degrees. But temperature is not always that high. Winter time it hardly gets to 35 degrees, spring time it can be damn hot day time, but when sun sets, it is actually very comfortable.
What is not comfortable, is pedestrian facilities. Like this pedestrian crossing on Muroor road is just better than nothing.

Really strange here is that pedestrian crossings have only been marked on pavement, but the blue signs that are common in rest of the world, even in neighboring Qatar, are not used here at all. Instead, sometimes the warning sign is used! What I learned from traffic school is that drivers have to give way to pedestrians at "unregulated" crossings, but they almost never do. Reason being that the drivers coming from behind don't expect this. When drivers are forced to stop at crossing, they immidiately turn flashing danger light's on to warn drivers behind..

Here's one junction that I'm often crossing. The other day my way was suddenly blocked with barriers to safeguard  landscaping workers, but hey, what about me? Probably this is just a trick to make me feel like being at home! Thanks!

Here is a new type of pedestrian crossing design from Dubai.

 

What does it mean in legal terms? Who has to give way, is it the pedestrians who walk on the street? Why not just use the same sign and same rules as rest of the world?

At least drivers learn what happens in the rest of the world. It is of course important when Emirati drivers go to drive outside UAE.

UPDATE: Had to add this ingenious trafffic arrangement from Marina Square, Abu Dhabi.