Driving Licence, Purchasing Car and Salik

Obtaining a driving licence in Dubai is a big challenge for many expats. I consider myself one of the luckiest ones who simply exchanged the driving licence without going through the hassle of redoing the tests. There’s a new law coming into force under which the expats are required to do the tests once a year.
The process of purchasing a new car in Dubai is pretty much straight forward. Basically, you select your car and in case you’re considering financing the dealer in association with your bank will take care of the loan.

The cars and most importantly the gas is extremely cheap in comparison to the rest of the world and that is the main reason why many expats usually buy 4x4 vehicles with big engines. After doing a lot of research online I selected a Mitsubishi Pajero 3.0 2008. It’s a full off-road SUV which is very popular in Dubai. My second option was a Toyota Prado which later on I found unnecessarily expensive. I’d never owned a 4x4 SUV before and I can say it’s a very pleasant experience.




Dubai has a toll system on the main high ways which they call “Salik”. Salik is a free flow tolling system without toll booths, barriers, or gates, allowing traffic to move freely through the tolling point at highway speeds.There will be two tolling points: Al Garhoud Bridge and Sheikh Zayed Road near the Mall of the Emirates. Each time you pass through a Salik tolling point, the toll of AED 4 will be deducted from your prepaid toll account using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.Your vehicle will be identified to the system through communication with the small, thin Salik sticker tag affixed to your windshield. Whenever your Salik balance is low, a sms will be sent to your mobile phone to remind you to refill.