Signposting in Abu Dhabi is generally very good once you understand the system. Blue or green signs indicate the roads, exits or locations out of the city, while brown signs show heritage sites, places of interest and hospitals. Abu Dhabi’s signage system relies more heavily on street names and numbers now than it did with the older system, which relied more on local names. With the new address system on its way, new road signs will even have QR codes on them to provide pinpoint, location specific information.

Getting off the island
If the signage gets confusing, remember that Al Maqtaa, Al Mussafah and Sheikh Zayed Bridges all lie at one end of the island (the eastern end), while following any sign for the Corniche will lead you to the other end of the island. If you look out for signs to Yas Island while in the city, you’ll get onto the Sheikh Khalifa Highway, the giant ringroad that joins the Corniche with the Abu Dhabi-Dubai road to the city’s north, or you'll be guided through the city and out towards the airport. Once you get off the island, simply put, Dubai means north, Al Ain means east, and Tarif, Al Gharbia and Madinat Zayed all mean south.

Motorway signs
When approaching a junction on motorways, any arrows on a white background means that the lane will automatically take that junction. Arrows on blue backgrounds means you actually need to filter off the motorway. While the speed limit is 120kmph you'll sometimes see signs showing the maximum speed of 140kmph. This is a strange quirk of road law in the UAE, where the speed limit that you may actually be punished for exceeding is 140kmph, yet it's unclear whether the police could still stop you for travelling at over 120kmph if they feel the urge. The result of this is many stay at 120kmph, others 140kmph, and yet there are plenty who push the 140kmph limit up to 160kmph plus. Throw in some trucks that loiter around 100kmph, and other drivers slowing to around 80kmph to make phone calls (which is illegal without hands-free) and the speed disparity can be huge.