Automobile | Guide de Dubai | Bayt.com
UAE residents must have a UAE driver's license in order to drive in the country. Foreign driver’s licenses won’t do. If, however, you are a non resident visitor, you could drive providing you have a valid international driver's license with you (this is usually issued by the country of your residence).
Whether you are visiting or living/ working in Dubai, Do bear in mind that you can never, under any circumstances, drive without a valid license. As there is zero tolerance for driving after consumption of alcohol in the UAE, very strict penalties apply, including jail sentences and fines. If you get involved in an accident in which another person gets injured, you will go to jail right away and you will stay there until the injured person is released from the hospital. Also, Should a person die in a traffic accident, the driver of the other vehicle is liable for payment of compensation for the death.