Picture this: you are trying to hail a cab in the heat of the day, but you haven’t seen an available taxi in more than 40 minutes. When one finally approaches, another person jumps in front of you and takes your ride. Queue-jumping is something we see every day – not just while waiting for taxis but in all sorts of situations, from car parks to banks and ticket counters. Why do some people do it? The psychology behind this phenomenon has been explored by David Andrews in his book, Why Does the Other Line Always Move Faster?, which was reviewed in our Arts & Life section yesterday.
Queuing etiquette varies from country to country. These differences are reflected in the UAE’s multicultural mix and mean that some people are happy to wait their turn while others simply barge in. Those conflicting attitudes also mean that this country’s prevailing queuing etiquette is one of its more unfathomable mysteries. We don’t have the answer, do you?
