I can't believe it, but the report in 7Days this morning says that no-one was killed, thankfully, in the Dubai Marina crash I commented on yesterday.
But the thrust of the front page story is that the cause of the crash, and the two before it, was the traffic lights not working. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
Of course the lights should have been fixed more quickly, and in fact they're working this morning - although the street lights and the next set of traffic lights are still not working and they've been out of action for longer.
But if the lights are blamed for causing the crashes the real cause of the problem is ignored. Problems can only be solved if their cause is recognised, accurately and honestly.
Look at the facts. There is a secondary road joining a main road. It's simply a road junction. Traffic on the secondary road has to give way to traffic on the main road, which has right of way. Only when the main road is clear should the traffic venture onto it. It isn't rocket science, it's common sense and a basic road rule.
The lights didn't cause the crashes, drivers not obeying basic, simple road rules and not using common sense caused them.
And look again at my photos - no way in the world was sensible speed being driven. The car is cut in half with the engine and front of the vehicle a heap of unrecognisable metal. The cement mixer truck has overturned and has the solid front axle twisted. And this in a 60kph zone.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Carnage at Dubai Marina
Why do I keep on about the murderous driving in Dubai? Here’s why. I took these photographs an hour ago in Dubai Marina.
Dubai Marina is a combination of residential and construction. Thousands of people live and work here, hundreds of construction vehicles are manoeuvring around, roads are frequently coned off with diversions in place. Caution when driving would seem to be a prerequisite.
Oh, and the speed limit is 60kph. That means nothing in Dubai of course, the wide, flat, straight roads are used as race tracks by the moronic majority.
Look at what’s left of these vehicles and consider whether the speed limit or common sense had anything to do with it.
More death, more injury, more bereaved families…and it is all so bloody unnecessary, so mindlessly stupid.
Dubai Marina is a combination of residential and construction. Thousands of people live and work here, hundreds of construction vehicles are manoeuvring around, roads are frequently coned off with diversions in place. Caution when driving would seem to be a prerequisite.Oh, and the speed limit is 60kph. That means nothing in Dubai of course, the wide, flat, straight roads are used as race tracks by the moronic majority.
Look at what’s left of these vehicles and consider whether the speed limit or common sense had anything to do with it.
More death, more injury, more bereaved families…and it is all so bloody unnecessary, so mindlessly stupid.
Monday, May 08, 2006
A three-way street
A committee has prepared a memorandum for submission to the Cabinet to deal with labour protests, the lead story in today's Gulf News tells us.
It reports that Labour Minister Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi said the memorandum recommended that workers who protest 'on flimsy grounds' will be taken to court. That apparently means protest without a genuine legal grievance, "with no right", or if they damaged property. He also called on companies to pay all workers delayed wages within 30 days, but did not specify what action will be taken against companies that do not, the report says.
But labour protests are only part of the problem, which has moral and commercial faces. There is the morality of how workers are treated and there is the purely commercial consideration of Dubai's reputation as a place to invest, to do business, to set up a business.
This whole industrial relations area is a three way street, it's not only about workers protesting. Why they are protesting needs equal scrutiny.
A large part of the problem is agents who con the labourers, who bring them here under false pretences, who lie about the job, the wage, the working & living conditions, who make promises that simply aren't going to be met. They need to be taken out of the picture. If what's delivered isn't what was expected there's bound to be unrest and we're seeing that now. There are discussions on this subject going on between the UAE and Indian governments apparently, which is very good news.
An equally serious contributing factor is companies not paying wages on time. That is completely unacceptable and there should be zero tolerancy. If wages are one week late, immediate action needs to be taken, not 'negotiations' and 'discussions' that go on for months while the workforce is left to survive on handouts. If the company doesn't have the money it should go into bankrupcy, and there needs to be a central insurance fund to cover workers' entitlements in such cases. (Another aspect of this is cover for investors whose money has disappeared, as with Ayoubco and The Lighthouse development in Dubai Marina. Dubai is getting very bad press over that - but that's a topic for another day).
If the company has the money but is simply delaying payment of wages it should be compelled to pay immediately in full and fined an appropriate amount.
If those problems can be overcome, protests are much more unlikely and the necessity to get the legal system involved diminishes.
It's not only fair that equal emphasis is put on all the factors contributing to the problem, it also makes good commercial sense.
Incidentally, if there are protests and workers damage property, they should be charged as anyone else would be, but that's a different thing.
It reports that Labour Minister Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi said the memorandum recommended that workers who protest 'on flimsy grounds' will be taken to court. That apparently means protest without a genuine legal grievance, "with no right", or if they damaged property. He also called on companies to pay all workers delayed wages within 30 days, but did not specify what action will be taken against companies that do not, the report says.
But labour protests are only part of the problem, which has moral and commercial faces. There is the morality of how workers are treated and there is the purely commercial consideration of Dubai's reputation as a place to invest, to do business, to set up a business.
This whole industrial relations area is a three way street, it's not only about workers protesting. Why they are protesting needs equal scrutiny.
A large part of the problem is agents who con the labourers, who bring them here under false pretences, who lie about the job, the wage, the working & living conditions, who make promises that simply aren't going to be met. They need to be taken out of the picture. If what's delivered isn't what was expected there's bound to be unrest and we're seeing that now. There are discussions on this subject going on between the UAE and Indian governments apparently, which is very good news.
An equally serious contributing factor is companies not paying wages on time. That is completely unacceptable and there should be zero tolerancy. If wages are one week late, immediate action needs to be taken, not 'negotiations' and 'discussions' that go on for months while the workforce is left to survive on handouts. If the company doesn't have the money it should go into bankrupcy, and there needs to be a central insurance fund to cover workers' entitlements in such cases. (Another aspect of this is cover for investors whose money has disappeared, as with Ayoubco and The Lighthouse development in Dubai Marina. Dubai is getting very bad press over that - but that's a topic for another day).
If the company has the money but is simply delaying payment of wages it should be compelled to pay immediately in full and fined an appropriate amount.
If those problems can be overcome, protests are much more unlikely and the necessity to get the legal system involved diminishes.
It's not only fair that equal emphasis is put on all the factors contributing to the problem, it also makes good commercial sense.
Incidentally, if there are protests and workers damage property, they should be charged as anyone else would be, but that's a different thing.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
What faith!
It's like a mojo warding off evil spirits.
There they were again, a gang of labourers in the middle of three lanes of traffic, this time on Al Sufouh Road, heads down concentrating on whatever it was they were doing. Cars & construction traffic hurtling towards and around them, each at least one tonne of metal travelling at least 25 metres a second.
Speed limit? This is Dubai!
And there protecting them from harm was Redflagman, about a metre in front of them, putting himself between them and danger, waving the red flag talisman...and I assume, hoping that it hadn't lost its magic powers.
There they were again, a gang of labourers in the middle of three lanes of traffic, this time on Al Sufouh Road, heads down concentrating on whatever it was they were doing. Cars & construction traffic hurtling towards and around them, each at least one tonne of metal travelling at least 25 metres a second.
Speed limit? This is Dubai!
And there protecting them from harm was Redflagman, about a metre in front of them, putting himself between them and danger, waving the red flag talisman...and I assume, hoping that it hadn't lost its magic powers.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Ingliss no spoke here
Why is it that in a country with so many different nationalities living in it, so many tourists and business visitors, where English is the language we use to communicate with each other, that so many front-line staff don’t speak the language?
It isn’t their fault, and I’m not criticising them in any way. What I don’t follow is the thought process of the person who hired them. They have customers willing, wanting even, to give them money, who’ve taken the trouble to visit their establishment. But they can’t spend the money because they can’t communicate with the ‘sales’ staff.
What a strange way to run a business.
It isn’t their fault, and I’m not criticising them in any way. What I don’t follow is the thought process of the person who hired them. They have customers willing, wanting even, to give them money, who’ve taken the trouble to visit their establishment. But they can’t spend the money because they can’t communicate with the ‘sales’ staff.
What a strange way to run a business.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Good Road News
Here's a twist - some good news about Dubai's roads.
The timing was out of course, with developments opening before the roads were ready and chaos being the result for a while. But now all around Media & Internet Cities/Knowledge Village we have a fantastic new road system.
It isn't fully open, but suddenly there are wide dual-carriageways, flyovers & underpasses everywhere, an internal road system joining Media/Internet/Knowledge, several ways in and out, a choice of ways onto Sheikh Zayed Road. And suddenly, of course, the gridlock has disappeared.
I must drive around one day and find out where all the roads go...
These photos were around noon today - just look at the traffic!
The timing was out of course, with developments opening before the roads were ready and chaos being the result for a while. But now all around Media & Internet Cities/Knowledge Village we have a fantastic new road system.
It isn't fully open, but suddenly there are wide dual-carriageways, flyovers & underpasses everywhere, an internal road system joining Media/Internet/Knowledge, several ways in and out, a choice of ways onto Sheikh Zayed Road. And suddenly, of course, the gridlock has disappeared.
I must drive around one day and find out where all the roads go...
These photos were around noon today - just look at the traffic!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Lost in hotels.
Sort-of following on from what I said yesterday, have you tried to find your way around a hotel by looking at signs? Forget it. If you can locate the sign it's stainless steel with the words engraved and light shining on it, or something similarly impossible to read.
I know the cause of the problem, I was in the business for years. The designers insist on coming up with signs that blend in with the décor, that are unobtrusive. They think they’re stylish, chic, trendy, understated.
No they’re not, they’re bloody invisible! What is the point of a sign no-one can see? As the old advertising saying goes, it’s like winking at a girl in the dark.
In Dubai many hotels take it one step further. There are no signs at all.
Instead, when you park in the wrong place, like the taxi rank, or wander around the lobby searching in vain, people descend on you from every point of the compass. It happened to me the other evening, when I was trying to check out the restaurants at Grosvenor House and Ritz Carlton.
They smile, they say something or other, they’re very pleasant…but they’re all over you like a rash, in your face, invading your personal space, a foot away from you, which is not only very, very annoying it’s also unnecessary and inefficient.
Just put up signs, clear and visible, so that your guests can find their way around in peace.
I know the cause of the problem, I was in the business for years. The designers insist on coming up with signs that blend in with the décor, that are unobtrusive. They think they’re stylish, chic, trendy, understated.
No they’re not, they’re bloody invisible! What is the point of a sign no-one can see? As the old advertising saying goes, it’s like winking at a girl in the dark.
In Dubai many hotels take it one step further. There are no signs at all.
Instead, when you park in the wrong place, like the taxi rank, or wander around the lobby searching in vain, people descend on you from every point of the compass. It happened to me the other evening, when I was trying to check out the restaurants at Grosvenor House and Ritz Carlton.
They smile, they say something or other, they’re very pleasant…but they’re all over you like a rash, in your face, invading your personal space, a foot away from you, which is not only very, very annoying it’s also unnecessary and inefficient.
Just put up signs, clear and visible, so that your guests can find their way around in peace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
