Sitting here in the UK on a crystal clear early evening I thought I'd have a quick look at Gulf News before we find a nice village pub for dinner.
The morning we left Dubai was when the latest multi-vehicle pile up was reported, a story that has legs, as they say. I found it still being talked about in today's online GN, proof yet again that criminally moronic drivers are not being blamed for our too-frequent road carnage in bad weather.
There's an article headlined "Timeline: crashes caused by poor visibility"
The latest big crash was "caused by heavy morning fog" we're assured.
The other eight crashes listed were also caused by the "foggy weather conditions and poor visibility"
Not, you note, by terminally stupid drivers travelling at 140kph in 50 metre visibility.
I know I've gone on about this several times in the past but I really do need to keep repeating myself. What chance is there of ever changing these driving habits when those responsible for the carnage are excused because it wasn't their fault, it was the fog's.
Note to Gulf News - the fog wasn't driving the vehicles at insane speeds. The fog wasn't driving too close to the vehicle in front. The fog did not cause the crashes.
The crash, the death, the injuries were all caused by the drivers.
The drivers, not the weather.
Weather drives cars says Gulf News.
Showing posts with label crash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crash. Show all posts
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
The fog dun some of it
Fog can make for interesting photos, like this morning in Dubai Marina...
...but when it's combined with idiot drivers the picture is quite different:
Photo: Gulf News
...but when it's combined with idiot drivers the picture is quite different:
Abu Dhabi once again had the worst of it. In this 18 vehicle crash two people were killed and eleven were injured, two seriously.
At least the fog wasn't blamed this time. This carnage was attributed to an idiot driver, who apparently "exited the highway without paying attention to traffic in the adjacent lane".
Nothing new there then.
The fog dunnit elsewhere in AD though. They weren't crashes, they were 'accidents'.
According to Gulf News ...multi-vehicle accidents...were due to poor visibility and heavy fog at dawn.
I'm concerned about some of the advice reportedly given to motorists by the Director of AD Police Traffic & Control Dept. 'Take simple precautions such as switching on hazard lights' was part of his advice according to Gulf News.
Gulf News has the story here.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Strong light
It would have been much worse if the street light hadn't been as strong. It stopped the van from crossing the kerb and causing a head-on crash.
It's a sixty kph zone by the way, but as it's the usual Dubai dual-carriageway, two lanes either side, it's treated like a freeway.
It's a sixty kph zone by the way, but as it's the usual Dubai dual-carriageway, two lanes either side, it's treated like a freeway.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Moron, crash, fire, death
Al Sufouh Road by Media City. I know it well, drive on it every day.
Speed limit is 80kph, routinely ignored because it's a straight, flat dual carriageway with three lanes each side.
Yesterday yet another moron in a 4X4 was speeding while approaching red traffic lights at which other vehicles had stopped.
Not only speeding, the moron was also obviously not paying attention. Slammed the brakes on, tyre burst...
Photo: Karen Dias Gulf News
Six vehicles in flames.
One innocent woman dead, three more innocents badly injured. Had brave people not pulled those involved, including children, from the burning wreckage the death toll would have been much worse.
The moron who caused the crash? Escaped with minor injuries.
We have many people unjustifiably in jail, for bouncing cheques for example. If anyone deserves a long jail term this moron does.
The story is in Gulf News and The National.
Speed limit is 80kph, routinely ignored because it's a straight, flat dual carriageway with three lanes each side.
Yesterday yet another moron in a 4X4 was speeding while approaching red traffic lights at which other vehicles had stopped.
Not only speeding, the moron was also obviously not paying attention. Slammed the brakes on, tyre burst...
Photo: Karen Dias Gulf News
Six vehicles in flames.
One innocent woman dead, three more innocents badly injured. Had brave people not pulled those involved, including children, from the burning wreckage the death toll would have been much worse.
The moron who caused the crash? Escaped with minor injuries.
We have many people unjustifiably in jail, for bouncing cheques for example. If anyone deserves a long jail term this moron does.
The story is in Gulf News and The National.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Another Marina morning
I'm at a loss to understand why what seems to me to be a perfectly normal road junction has more crashes than any other in Dubai Marina.
This morning the taxi with a smashed front was sitting in the garden while a delivery van missing lots of bits was up on the footpath on the opposite side of the road.
It's a simple light controlled junction, not the most dangerous by a long way, yet there are regular crashes here.
This morning the taxi with a smashed front was sitting in the garden while a delivery van missing lots of bits was up on the footpath on the opposite side of the road.
It's a simple light controlled junction, not the most dangerous by a long way, yet there are regular crashes here.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Dubai's road deaths down
I've noted in a few posts that, although there are still plenty of morons out there, road behaviour generally seems to be improving in Dubai.
That seems to be supported by RTA figures for 2008 which show that road deaths are down for the first time in eight years. Speed is a major factor in fatalities and I've noticed a definite slowing down since, for example, Sheikh Zayed Road's limit was reduced to 100kph.
Sadly there were 157 unnecessary deaths caused by road crashes last year, but that's better than the 180 killed in 2007.
On SZR, where the speed limit was reduced from 120kph to 100kph, the stretch between between Defence Roundabout and Interchange 5 had a dramatic drop in fatalities, down from 29 in 2007 to 10 last year.
Speed is a factor in crashes in general but it isn't just the reduction of speed limits that have helped to reduce the danger on our roads, it's much more complicated than that, as Maitha bin Udai, CEO of Traffic & Roads Agency, said.
I've noticed not only a reduction in speed but also, for example, far fewer people driving along the hard shoulder, far fewer driving aggressively and forcing their way in. That's not down to speed limits but to less frustration with log-jammed traffic. A frustrated driver is a dangerous driver. The improvement in traffic flow is thanks to the opening of so many new roads and intersections plus the slightly fewer vehicles on the roads.
There's a long way to go but at least the figures are going in the right direction at long last.
Gulf News has the story here.
That seems to be supported by RTA figures for 2008 which show that road deaths are down for the first time in eight years. Speed is a major factor in fatalities and I've noticed a definite slowing down since, for example, Sheikh Zayed Road's limit was reduced to 100kph.
Sadly there were 157 unnecessary deaths caused by road crashes last year, but that's better than the 180 killed in 2007.
On SZR, where the speed limit was reduced from 120kph to 100kph, the stretch between between Defence Roundabout and Interchange 5 had a dramatic drop in fatalities, down from 29 in 2007 to 10 last year.
Speed is a factor in crashes in general but it isn't just the reduction of speed limits that have helped to reduce the danger on our roads, it's much more complicated than that, as Maitha bin Udai, CEO of Traffic & Roads Agency, said.
I've noticed not only a reduction in speed but also, for example, far fewer people driving along the hard shoulder, far fewer driving aggressively and forcing their way in. That's not down to speed limits but to less frustration with log-jammed traffic. A frustrated driver is a dangerous driver. The improvement in traffic flow is thanks to the opening of so many new roads and intersections plus the slightly fewer vehicles on the roads.
There's a long way to go but at least the figures are going in the right direction at long last.
Gulf News has the story here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Yet more vehicle fires.
I've repeated myself on this subject many times and I'm going to do it again because there's yet another example of vehicles bursting into flames in a crash.
The latest is a terrible crash in Sharjah which killed two people and injured thirty three more.
Of the bus and three other vehicles involved the bus and two other vehicles burst into flames.
Photo. S. Kumar in Gulf News
What I keep asking is why do so many vehicles here burst into flames?
There are plenty of crashes in other countries, including high speed crashes on motorways, but they rarely result in fires.
I can think of no other reason than that our vehicle safety standards are nowhere near where they should be.
Gulf News has the full story here.
The latest is a terrible crash in Sharjah which killed two people and injured thirty three more.
Of the bus and three other vehicles involved the bus and two other vehicles burst into flames.
Photo. S. Kumar in Gulf News
What I keep asking is why do so many vehicles here burst into flames?
There are plenty of crashes in other countries, including high speed crashes on motorways, but they rarely result in fires.
I can think of no other reason than that our vehicle safety standards are nowhere near where they should be.
Gulf News has the full story here.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The inevitable
On Saturday I posted about the dangerous intersection that's been created on one of Dubai Marina's bridges.
This morning:
The BMW was coming across the bridge, the taxi was presumably already on the roundabout.
It happens to be one I saw but I bet there have been more, and there'll be many more in the future too.
As I've said several times in the past, bad road design and bad road signage contribute to the crash statistics.
This morning:
The BMW was coming across the bridge, the taxi was presumably already on the roundabout.
It happens to be one I saw but I bet there have been more, and there'll be many more in the future too.
As I've said several times in the past, bad road design and bad road signage contribute to the crash statistics.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Breakthrough!
My prediction yesterday was wrong, I'm delighted to say.
The rain wasn't to blame for the crashes on our roads. Or at least not in the papers I read this morning.
Most of the accidents were caused by drivers who failed to keep safe distance," said Major Yaslam Mubarak Al Tamimi, the head of the serious traffic accidents department.
Caused by drivers.
Now if only that would get through to the drivers themselves we'd be getting somewhere.
You can read about the chaos here.
The rain wasn't to blame for the crashes on our roads. Or at least not in the papers I read this morning.
Most of the accidents were caused by drivers who failed to keep safe distance," said Major Yaslam Mubarak Al Tamimi, the head of the serious traffic accidents department.
Caused by drivers.
Now if only that would get through to the drivers themselves we'd be getting somewhere.
You can read about the chaos here.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Vehicle safety standards
I've often posted about the number of fires when vehicles crash here, and I've asked the rhetorical question of whether our safety standards are lower than other countries.
In today's Gulf News a report on the booming market we have for carmakers says how easy it is to ship cars here. It includes the throw-away line: Emissions and safety standards are also low.
I really think that's the problem behind the number of fatal vehicle fires.
The full story is here.
In today's Gulf News a report on the booming market we have for carmakers says how easy it is to ship cars here. It includes the throw-away line: Emissions and safety standards are also low.
I really think that's the problem behind the number of fatal vehicle fires.
The full story is here.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Multiple crash on Al Ain highway
Gulf News report is already blaming the weather: Thick fog and poor visibility over Dubai was the cause of two other major accidents... so I'm sure the official announcements will exonerate the drivers and blame the fog for all the crashes.
Yesterday seventeen cars crashed on the Al Ain highway, many people were injured, thankfully no deaths were reported from this disaster.
A taxi "drifted off the road because of the low visibility and foggy conditions and bumped into a barrier on the road" and sixteen other cars crashed into one another.
See, the taxi driver didn't drift off the road because he was driving without due care and attention. He drifted off because of the fog.
And I suppose the other sixteen cars didn't crash into each other because the drivers were doing the wrong thing, it was because of the low visibility.
Looking at the photographs would you think that maybe, just maybe, some speed inappropriate to the conditions might have been involved?
Photos: Gulf News
There were other crashes too, with sadly another person added to the death statistics.
On Sheikh Zayed Road a four car crash resulted in serious injuries and two trucks collided, the driver of one died later in hospital.
And it's all the fault of the weather.
Gulf News have the report here.
Yesterday seventeen cars crashed on the Al Ain highway, many people were injured, thankfully no deaths were reported from this disaster.
A taxi "drifted off the road because of the low visibility and foggy conditions and bumped into a barrier on the road" and sixteen other cars crashed into one another.
See, the taxi driver didn't drift off the road because he was driving without due care and attention. He drifted off because of the fog.
And I suppose the other sixteen cars didn't crash into each other because the drivers were doing the wrong thing, it was because of the low visibility.
Looking at the photographs would you think that maybe, just maybe, some speed inappropriate to the conditions might have been involved?
Photos: Gulf News
There were other crashes too, with sadly another person added to the death statistics.
On Sheikh Zayed Road a four car crash resulted in serious injuries and two trucks collided, the driver of one died later in hospital.
And it's all the fault of the weather.
Gulf News have the report here.
Monday, July 21, 2008
This happens far too often...
Photo by Gulf News reader Tatiana Djabulu
Another crash, another vehicle bursts into flames.
I've said it many times before, vehicles crash - including at high speeds - in other countries but they don't seem to burst into flames as they do here.
Do we not have adequate regulations about fuel tank safety?
And on the road safety subject, statistics reported by Dubai police show that our road deaths are going up. There were 147 people killed in the last six months, an increase of 8% over the same period last year.
Think about it, it's person being killed almost every day.
The stats also show that 1,688 were injured in 1,914 crashes in the last six months. That's about ten a day, every day.
Plenty of talk, plenty of hand-wringing, plenty of promises, but the situation is getting worse.
The stories are here and here.
Another crash, another vehicle bursts into flames.
I've said it many times before, vehicles crash - including at high speeds - in other countries but they don't seem to burst into flames as they do here.
Do we not have adequate regulations about fuel tank safety?
And on the road safety subject, statistics reported by Dubai police show that our road deaths are going up. There were 147 people killed in the last six months, an increase of 8% over the same period last year.
Think about it, it's person being killed almost every day.
The stats also show that 1,688 were injured in 1,914 crashes in the last six months. That's about ten a day, every day.
Plenty of talk, plenty of hand-wringing, plenty of promises, but the situation is getting worse.
The stories are here and here.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Five killed on Sheikh Rashid Road
The death toll on Dubai's roads reached ten since Thursday when five people in a minibus were killed yesterday.
On Sheikh Rashid Road, a dual carriageway in Dubai city, the minibus crashed across the central reservation and into an oncoming car.
The driver of the minibus and four passengers were killed, four others were injured including the driver of the other car.
Looking at photographs of the wreckage it would have been a bigger death toll had the minibus been full:
Gulf News photo
I, and others, have talked about the standard of driving displayed by bus drivers many times in the past. And the roadworthiness of the buses.
I see, almost on a daily basis, huge construction worker buses, minibuses and large private buses being raced around the streets. In Dubai Marina and Knowledge Village in particular I often see them lurching around the small roundabouts almost on two wheels.
On a post a while ago a comment was left by a pupil who said his school bus driver frightened them with his dangerous driving.
This latest crash is being blamed on speeding and possibly the driver falling asleep, pending investigation. I don't think speeding is in any doubt, looking at what happened and the damage caused.
Five more lives needlessly wasted.
And on another aspect of the same subject that I've talked about many times, two more vehicle fires are reported.
A refrigerated van hit a donkey, killing the animal and 'caused the vehicle to burst into flames'. And a 4x4 hit a motorcycle left in the road after an earlier accident and 'the crash led to the loud explosion of the petrol tank'.
We keep talking about it, we keep saying the obvious, that action must be taken but the crashes and the fires keep happening.
And more and more people continue to needlessly, and avoidably, lose their lives.
Gulf News has the stories and photographs here and here.
On Sheikh Rashid Road, a dual carriageway in Dubai city, the minibus crashed across the central reservation and into an oncoming car.
The driver of the minibus and four passengers were killed, four others were injured including the driver of the other car.
Looking at photographs of the wreckage it would have been a bigger death toll had the minibus been full:
Gulf News photo
I, and others, have talked about the standard of driving displayed by bus drivers many times in the past. And the roadworthiness of the buses.
I see, almost on a daily basis, huge construction worker buses, minibuses and large private buses being raced around the streets. In Dubai Marina and Knowledge Village in particular I often see them lurching around the small roundabouts almost on two wheels.
On a post a while ago a comment was left by a pupil who said his school bus driver frightened them with his dangerous driving.
This latest crash is being blamed on speeding and possibly the driver falling asleep, pending investigation. I don't think speeding is in any doubt, looking at what happened and the damage caused.
Five more lives needlessly wasted.
And on another aspect of the same subject that I've talked about many times, two more vehicle fires are reported.
A refrigerated van hit a donkey, killing the animal and 'caused the vehicle to burst into flames'. And a 4x4 hit a motorcycle left in the road after an earlier accident and 'the crash led to the loud explosion of the petrol tank'.
We keep talking about it, we keep saying the obvious, that action must be taken but the crashes and the fires keep happening.
And more and more people continue to needlessly, and avoidably, lose their lives.
Gulf News has the stories and photographs here and here.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Another avoidable tragedy
There is no question that road crashes are the fault of drivers.
But...roads and the management of them are a contributing factor.
Not just in Dubai, anywhere the world.
While we have a huge way to go to educate drivers, that isn't going to happen any time soon.
But there is no excuse for not urgently fixing current hazards and avoiding future dangers caused by bad planning and management of the roads (there I go again).
I've talked about it several times - the mish-mash of US and British road systems, the short distances given to filter in and cross several lanes of traffic to move into the lane you need, the confusing or non-existent signage. Roundabouts with traffic lights, U-turns without traffic lights. Vision blocked; here's a comment e-mailed to me by a friend about Al Wasl Road:
"the STUPID advertising bill-boards (you know, the free standing ones with lights inside) on the central reservation, usually advertising Burger King, Pizza Hut or Davidoff's new perfume) REALLY BLOCK THE VIEW."
All of that is about the planning. Or lack of it.
Last year on Al Wasl Road this happened:
The two, both in their early 20s, burnt to death when their Peugeot 206 caught fire after it was struck by another vehicle on Al Wasl Road in Dubai on Friday afternoon.
It happended here, where they were apparently attempting a U-turn:
Photo: Regi Varghesi. Gulf News
It happened again on Friday and the report reminded us that:
Three expatriates died in a similar accident involving a U-turn five months back.
On Friday:
Three people, including a five-year-old child, were burnt to death in a horrific car accident late on Friday night on Al Wasl Road.
According to witnesses, the accident happened when the car carrying the child rammed into another vehicle while taking a U-turn near the Iranian Hospital.
Later reports say the child was only two and was sitting on the driver's lap. Dear God! Just maybe, she might have been saved by the people who tried to help had she been in a proper child seat in the back of the car.
It happened here:
Photo: Megan Hirons. Gulf News.
They weren't the cause of the crash but the trees and all the poles certainly don't help visibility and probably contributed to the problem.
So now the RTA has closed the U-turn and has taken the trees out:
Photo: Javed Nawab. Gulf News.
And here's where I get back to the lack of planning.
You notice there are no traffic lights at either U-turn?
The road is busier than ever with Salik dodgers using it, and drivers waiting to U-turn or drive across get impatient. I know they shouldn't but that's human nature and it's something that any good planner, any health & safety expert, allows for and builds into his plan.
Only after several crashes and deaths is action taken to remove the hazard. But it should never have been planned that way in the first place. Prevention. Don't create a problem and fix it afterwards, don't create the problem in the first place.
If we're going to have the dual-carriageway/U-turn system, if we're going to make drivers who want to turn left cross two or three lanes, then traffic lights should always have been the key safety factor.
Much of it is not originally the RTA's fault because it was built long before the RTA were formed. But they are at fault for not having urgently removed the hazards on what is after all one of Dubai's main arterial roads.
And while I'm ranting, again I have to raise the question of why there are so many fires in vehicle crashes. Here are the terrible remains of this latest crash:
Photo: Bassam Za'za'. Gulf News.
There are plenty of crashes in other countries, including high-speed crashes on freeways. But very rarely is there an instant fire which is actually the cause of deaths. The crash doesn't kill the occupants, it's the fire afterwards.
So why do we have them? Do we have less safe cars? Do we need tighter regulations?
Back in November I posted that: "Dr. Yaser Hawas, Director of the Roadway, Transportation & Traffic Safety Research Centre in Al Ain, said the occurrence of vehicle fires during accidents is so alarming that it warrants an investigation into the causes".
I wonder whether anything ever happened.
You can read the stories about these awful incidents here, here, here and here.
But...roads and the management of them are a contributing factor.
Not just in Dubai, anywhere the world.
While we have a huge way to go to educate drivers, that isn't going to happen any time soon.
But there is no excuse for not urgently fixing current hazards and avoiding future dangers caused by bad planning and management of the roads (there I go again).
I've talked about it several times - the mish-mash of US and British road systems, the short distances given to filter in and cross several lanes of traffic to move into the lane you need, the confusing or non-existent signage. Roundabouts with traffic lights, U-turns without traffic lights. Vision blocked; here's a comment e-mailed to me by a friend about Al Wasl Road:
"the STUPID advertising bill-boards (you know, the free standing ones with lights inside) on the central reservation, usually advertising Burger King, Pizza Hut or Davidoff's new perfume) REALLY BLOCK THE VIEW."
All of that is about the planning. Or lack of it.
Last year on Al Wasl Road this happened:
The two, both in their early 20s, burnt to death when their Peugeot 206 caught fire after it was struck by another vehicle on Al Wasl Road in Dubai on Friday afternoon.
It happended here, where they were apparently attempting a U-turn:
Photo: Regi Varghesi. Gulf News
It happened again on Friday and the report reminded us that:
Three expatriates died in a similar accident involving a U-turn five months back.
On Friday:
Three people, including a five-year-old child, were burnt to death in a horrific car accident late on Friday night on Al Wasl Road.
According to witnesses, the accident happened when the car carrying the child rammed into another vehicle while taking a U-turn near the Iranian Hospital.
Later reports say the child was only two and was sitting on the driver's lap. Dear God! Just maybe, she might have been saved by the people who tried to help had she been in a proper child seat in the back of the car.
It happened here:
Photo: Megan Hirons. Gulf News.
They weren't the cause of the crash but the trees and all the poles certainly don't help visibility and probably contributed to the problem.
So now the RTA has closed the U-turn and has taken the trees out:
Photo: Javed Nawab. Gulf News.
And here's where I get back to the lack of planning.
You notice there are no traffic lights at either U-turn?
The road is busier than ever with Salik dodgers using it, and drivers waiting to U-turn or drive across get impatient. I know they shouldn't but that's human nature and it's something that any good planner, any health & safety expert, allows for and builds into his plan.
Only after several crashes and deaths is action taken to remove the hazard. But it should never have been planned that way in the first place. Prevention. Don't create a problem and fix it afterwards, don't create the problem in the first place.
If we're going to have the dual-carriageway/U-turn system, if we're going to make drivers who want to turn left cross two or three lanes, then traffic lights should always have been the key safety factor.
Much of it is not originally the RTA's fault because it was built long before the RTA were formed. But they are at fault for not having urgently removed the hazards on what is after all one of Dubai's main arterial roads.
And while I'm ranting, again I have to raise the question of why there are so many fires in vehicle crashes. Here are the terrible remains of this latest crash:
Photo: Bassam Za'za'. Gulf News.
There are plenty of crashes in other countries, including high-speed crashes on freeways. But very rarely is there an instant fire which is actually the cause of deaths. The crash doesn't kill the occupants, it's the fire afterwards.
So why do we have them? Do we have less safe cars? Do we need tighter regulations?
Back in November I posted that: "Dr. Yaser Hawas, Director of the Roadway, Transportation & Traffic Safety Research Centre in Al Ain, said the occurrence of vehicle fires during accidents is so alarming that it warrants an investigation into the causes".
I wonder whether anything ever happened.
You can read the stories about these awful incidents here, here, here and here.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
We stand no chance
We read about it just about every day, and we witness the stupidity just about every day.
Two crashes reported in today's Gulf News:
"The accident on the Al Wagan road near Za'abh which claimed 12 lives, including those of eight Emiratis and four Omanis, on Thursday night, was due to reckless driving...One of the vehicles, driven by a 20-year-old Emirati, veered off the lane in the curve and collided with an incoming vehicle."
"A father and a two-year-old child were killed in an accident early on Saturday when their car fell into a pedestrian underpass...the man was talking on his cell phone and while switching it off he lost control of the vehicle. The car, which was travelling at a high speed, swerved off the road, hit the pedestrian underpass barrier and plunged down the stairs."
Three near misses for me before 10 this morning. Way beyond the speed limit, a Toyota Landcruiser screaming down the inside filter lane which merged into the main road and forcing his way into the traffic without even slowing down.
A Mitsubishi Pajero in Knowledge Village almost running into the back of a taxi which was dropping a passenger, avoiding it by jerking the wheel to the left - right in front of me. The moron was texting.
And then going into Dubai Marina at the dangerous obstacle course that is the under-construction Interchange 5.5...you know how these things look - like this:
I came to this T-Junction. A Caucasian female in an open Jeep, talking on her mobile, came round the blind corner in the right of the picture...on my side of the road.
We really don't stand a chance.
The Gulf News stories are here and here.
Two crashes reported in today's Gulf News:
"The accident on the Al Wagan road near Za'abh which claimed 12 lives, including those of eight Emiratis and four Omanis, on Thursday night, was due to reckless driving...One of the vehicles, driven by a 20-year-old Emirati, veered off the lane in the curve and collided with an incoming vehicle."
"A father and a two-year-old child were killed in an accident early on Saturday when their car fell into a pedestrian underpass...the man was talking on his cell phone and while switching it off he lost control of the vehicle. The car, which was travelling at a high speed, swerved off the road, hit the pedestrian underpass barrier and plunged down the stairs."
Three near misses for me before 10 this morning. Way beyond the speed limit, a Toyota Landcruiser screaming down the inside filter lane which merged into the main road and forcing his way into the traffic without even slowing down.
A Mitsubishi Pajero in Knowledge Village almost running into the back of a taxi which was dropping a passenger, avoiding it by jerking the wheel to the left - right in front of me. The moron was texting.
And then going into Dubai Marina at the dangerous obstacle course that is the under-construction Interchange 5.5...you know how these things look - like this:
I came to this T-Junction. A Caucasian female in an open Jeep, talking on her mobile, came round the blind corner in the right of the picture...on my side of the road.
We really don't stand a chance.
The Gulf News stories are here and here.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The big crash - the fog dunnit.
"Fog and low visibility were identified as the main causes of the accident."
So says the story in Gulf News, reporting from Abu Dhbai Police's press conference.
The fog drove vehicles in to other vehicles. The fog was not paying attention. The fog was on the mobile phone. The fog was speeding. The fog was too close to the vehicle in front. The bloody fog chased emergency vehicles along the hard shoulder.
The fog.
COME ON!!
The first, vital, step in solving a problem is to identify the problem accurately and honestly.
If you don't do that you cannot solve the problem. Solving it is impossible.
The cause of the crash was driver incompetence. Nothing else.
Driving standards are bad enough as it is, without official announcements that drivers are not to blame for crashes.
Now all the people who were actually resposible for the death and destruction can go on believing they were not at fault, that they have no behaviour to change, that they can go on endangering others by their incompetent, dangerous, brainless driving.
They have official exoneration.
Read it here.
So says the story in Gulf News, reporting from Abu Dhbai Police's press conference.
The fog drove vehicles in to other vehicles. The fog was not paying attention. The fog was on the mobile phone. The fog was speeding. The fog was too close to the vehicle in front. The bloody fog chased emergency vehicles along the hard shoulder.
The fog.
COME ON!!
The first, vital, step in solving a problem is to identify the problem accurately and honestly.
If you don't do that you cannot solve the problem. Solving it is impossible.
The cause of the crash was driver incompetence. Nothing else.
Driving standards are bad enough as it is, without official announcements that drivers are not to blame for crashes.
Now all the people who were actually resposible for the death and destruction can go on believing they were not at fault, that they have no behaviour to change, that they can go on endangering others by their incompetent, dangerous, brainless driving.
They have official exoneration.
Read it here.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
I despair
Since Tuesday morning the media has been full of the carnage of the country's worst traffic crash, caused by brainless, moronic, criminally stupid people.
There can't be a driver in the country who isn't aware of it.
But I've come to the conclusion there's nothing we can do about it.
The fact is, that's how people are. They are morons. They are brainless. They are criminally stupid. And they're all around.
Short of having compulsory intelligence and common-sense tests and euthenasing everyone who fails - what an empty planet we'd end up with - I can't see an answer to the problem.
As I said, for 48 hours the media has been giving huge coverage to the destruction. No driver can be unaware of the dangers.
Today in Dubai Marina we were confronted with one of them, driving his sedan the wrong way down a dual-carriageway. He was aware of what he was doing because he had his hazzard lights on and he was faced by oncoming traffic in both lanes. And arrows on the road pointing in the opposite direction.
An hour later I was doing 60kph on a clearly-marked 60kph road when a Dodge Charger, driver on his mobile, came past at something over 100kph. He was stopped by a red traffic signal - he was still on the phone as he screamed off when the light went green.
There can't be a driver in the country who isn't aware of it.
But I've come to the conclusion there's nothing we can do about it.
The fact is, that's how people are. They are morons. They are brainless. They are criminally stupid. And they're all around.
Short of having compulsory intelligence and common-sense tests and euthenasing everyone who fails - what an empty planet we'd end up with - I can't see an answer to the problem.
As I said, for 48 hours the media has been giving huge coverage to the destruction. No driver can be unaware of the dangers.
Today in Dubai Marina we were confronted with one of them, driving his sedan the wrong way down a dual-carriageway. He was aware of what he was doing because he had his hazzard lights on and he was faced by oncoming traffic in both lanes. And arrows on the road pointing in the opposite direction.
An hour later I was doing 60kph on a clearly-marked 60kph road when a Dodge Charger, driver on his mobile, came past at something over 100kph. He was stopped by a red traffic signal - he was still on the phone as he screamed off when the light went green.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
People caused the crash, nothing else.
The country's worst-ever road crash is still a confused story and there are plenty of rumours doing the rounds.
There were a number of crashes along the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway, hundreds of vehicles were involved, many caught fire, at least three and perhaps more than double that number were killed, over three hundred are injured, many critically.
Exactly how many crashes, how many vehicles, how many dead and injured is not clear and there are conflicting reports everywhere.
What isn't in dispute is that it was the country's worst-ever road disaster.
They call it an accident.
I don't like that word, it makes the event sound as though it was unavoidable, was no-one's fault.
Never forget that accidents don't happen, they are caused.
The police are reported to be blaming the thick fog as a major contributor. Others are saying it was fate, some sort of divine will.
The fact is that the cause is simple to pinpoint. Brainless, mindless, criminally stupid people.
Nothing else.
Speed, stopping distance and the distance you can actually see are inseparable.
If, as the police said was the situation yesterday, you can only see a few feet and you drive at 100kph or more you are going to slam into anything in front of you.
They did.
You can also be sure that some were talking on their mobile phones, others were in the wrong lane, plenty of them had their hazard lights flashing so that no-one would know if they were going to change lane. It was early morning so more than a few would have been drinking coffee - I've seen it many times.
Criminal stupidity.
And what I complained about yesterday, the unbelievable heartlessness, the lack of any semblance of humanity.
I'm not sure about the looting rumours, there hasn't been any confirmation from the authorities. It could have been, for example, that people who'd fled their vehicles to get to a safer place later went back to retrieve their belongings.
But there are other examples, such as people following emergency vehicles along the hard shoulder to try to get to the front, the rubberneckers on the opposite carriageway. And how about these:
"“While I was trying to rescue my friend, I was horrified to see one of the passengers from a crashed bus being mowed down by a car that was speeding down the hard shoulder,” Singh said. From 7Days.
"What really got be irritated was when I saw some of the motorists busy clicking away pictures on their mobile phone instead of helping the injured." Rachael Johnson. From Gulf News.
As always, in contrast to the cretins there were people doing what they could to help and comfort:
"...unknown hero on the road (a labourer) who was shouting his heads off and running towards the on coming traffic to warn them and stop them. It is difficult to explain how frantically he was yelling and trying his best to stop cars ... just so that there are not any more casualties. Had I not stopped because of his warning I might have also been involved in that horrific accident.
When I asked that “angel” what had happened, he told me that people are dying ahead on the road … everyone is hitting in each other. I advised him to take some precaution while warning others on the road, coz he was running towards the traffic in the road to force them to slow down or stop. Guess what he replied, he said “If I can save them by risking my own life then let it be that way.” Anyway, my salute to that labourer." Waqqas Pervez. From Khaleej Times.
"Some of the motorists who were stranded in the traffic were seen offering water to those who were injured.” Rachael Johnson. From Gulf News.
Thick fog, slippery roads, visibility a few feet. What speeds do you think would be needed to flatten cars like this:
Photo: Gulf News.
Gulf News.
7Days.
There were a number of crashes along the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway, hundreds of vehicles were involved, many caught fire, at least three and perhaps more than double that number were killed, over three hundred are injured, many critically.
Exactly how many crashes, how many vehicles, how many dead and injured is not clear and there are conflicting reports everywhere.
What isn't in dispute is that it was the country's worst-ever road disaster.
They call it an accident.
I don't like that word, it makes the event sound as though it was unavoidable, was no-one's fault.
Never forget that accidents don't happen, they are caused.
The police are reported to be blaming the thick fog as a major contributor. Others are saying it was fate, some sort of divine will.
The fact is that the cause is simple to pinpoint. Brainless, mindless, criminally stupid people.
Nothing else.
Speed, stopping distance and the distance you can actually see are inseparable.
If, as the police said was the situation yesterday, you can only see a few feet and you drive at 100kph or more you are going to slam into anything in front of you.
They did.
You can also be sure that some were talking on their mobile phones, others were in the wrong lane, plenty of them had their hazard lights flashing so that no-one would know if they were going to change lane. It was early morning so more than a few would have been drinking coffee - I've seen it many times.
Criminal stupidity.
And what I complained about yesterday, the unbelievable heartlessness, the lack of any semblance of humanity.
I'm not sure about the looting rumours, there hasn't been any confirmation from the authorities. It could have been, for example, that people who'd fled their vehicles to get to a safer place later went back to retrieve their belongings.
But there are other examples, such as people following emergency vehicles along the hard shoulder to try to get to the front, the rubberneckers on the opposite carriageway. And how about these:
"“While I was trying to rescue my friend, I was horrified to see one of the passengers from a crashed bus being mowed down by a car that was speeding down the hard shoulder,” Singh said. From 7Days.
"What really got be irritated was when I saw some of the motorists busy clicking away pictures on their mobile phone instead of helping the injured." Rachael Johnson. From Gulf News.
As always, in contrast to the cretins there were people doing what they could to help and comfort:
"...unknown hero on the road (a labourer) who was shouting his heads off and running towards the on coming traffic to warn them and stop them. It is difficult to explain how frantically he was yelling and trying his best to stop cars ... just so that there are not any more casualties. Had I not stopped because of his warning I might have also been involved in that horrific accident.
When I asked that “angel” what had happened, he told me that people are dying ahead on the road … everyone is hitting in each other. I advised him to take some precaution while warning others on the road, coz he was running towards the traffic in the road to force them to slow down or stop. Guess what he replied, he said “If I can save them by risking my own life then let it be that way.” Anyway, my salute to that labourer." Waqqas Pervez. From Khaleej Times.
"Some of the motorists who were stranded in the traffic were seen offering water to those who were injured.” Rachael Johnson. From Gulf News.
Thick fog, slippery roads, visibility a few feet. What speeds do you think would be needed to flatten cars like this:
Photo: Gulf News.
Gulf News.
7Days.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
No punishment is severe enough.
Breaking news this morning, related to the thick fog in Abu Dhabi:
"An horrific accident involving 31 cars has blocked the Abu Dhabi to Dubai highway near Ghantoot.
Police have confirmed that there are fatalities and several injuries but have yet to say how many people were killed in the accident which happened on Tuesday morning.
Witnesses have said that three or four cars were on fire after the accident."
Apart from the brainless morons driving as they are in thick fog and causing the destruction, you know what makes it even worse?
Radio reports are saying that:
a) drivers are attempting to by-pass the jam by following emergency vehicles along the hard shoulder. They then get stuck and block other emergency vehicles trying to get through to help the victims.
b) drivers going in the opposite direction are stopping and abandoning their cars on the highway so that they can look at the carnage.
My cynicism about people's stupidity, lack of consideration for others, lack of basic humanity is once again confirmed.
People are dying and others can think of nothing but getting to the head of the queue.
I am outraged and disgusted. We need to protect the rest of society from these apologies for human beings. They should be jailed for a very long time at the very least.
Breaking story from Gulf News is here.
UPDATE
"An horrific accident involving 31 cars has blocked the Abu Dhabi to Dubai highway near Ghantoot.
Police have confirmed that there are fatalities and several injuries but have yet to say how many people were killed in the accident which happened on Tuesday morning.
Witnesses have said that three or four cars were on fire after the accident."
Apart from the brainless morons driving as they are in thick fog and causing the destruction, you know what makes it even worse?
Radio reports are saying that:
a) drivers are attempting to by-pass the jam by following emergency vehicles along the hard shoulder. They then get stuck and block other emergency vehicles trying to get through to help the victims.
b) drivers going in the opposite direction are stopping and abandoning their cars on the highway so that they can look at the carnage.
My cynicism about people's stupidity, lack of consideration for others, lack of basic humanity is once again confirmed.
People are dying and others can think of nothing but getting to the head of the queue.
I am outraged and disgusted. We need to protect the rest of society from these apologies for human beings. They should be jailed for a very long time at the very least.
Breaking story from Gulf News is here.
UPDATE
It's much worse than the original reports suggested. Here's a photo from Gulf Newswebsite:
Photo: Yasir Thottingal. Gulf News
And they say:
"At least six people have been killed after a series of horrific accidents on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway near Ghantoot on Tuesday morning.
Police have said around 200 cars were involved in the crash, which happened in heavy fog, with 25 cars catching fire.
Sources at Rashid Hospital in Dubai said that 40 people were admitted to their emergency department, but 20 were discharged after being given treatment. Around 10 people are seriously injured at Rashid Hospital."
As the first comment on this post points out, there are also claims of looting - unconfirmed and I sincerely hope beyond any depths to which human beings can sink.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
It ain't just Dubai
We complain about the traffic in Dubai - and rightly so, I shall continue to complain I'm sure. But some of the complaints I've read give the impression that Dubai's problems are unique, or the worst possible.
We're in a fantasy bubble in Dubai and so many people lose perspective of the bigger world. My home town had problems last week which puts our traffic situation into some perspective.
Commuting into Sydney and out again in the evening is a nightmare, in all directions. There's a toll on Sydney Harbour Bridge and on many of the freeways. Sound familiar? The tolls are much more than Dh4 too.
There are just two roads going north from Sydney through the Central Coast and to Newcastle, which is a commuter area. They are the Pacific Highway and the F3 Freeway. When the F3 was completed the Pacific Highway was allowed to fall into disrepair, which means in reality there are one-and-a-half roads north.
If, as happens all too frequently, there's a major incident on the F3 it's total chaos. Sound familiar?
Last week the papers reported:
Commuters trapped again
TWO days of traffic chaos on the F3 have reignited calls for a second freeway to Sydney.
A truck crash closed the F3 for seven hours and stranded thousands of southbound holidaymakers and commuters on Tuesday. On Wednesday a pile-up northbound at Berowra injured 10 people and caused more delays.
Motorists were stuck for up to seven hours in a traffic jam in soaring summer heat after a fiery truck crash closed the F3 freeway north of Sydney on Tuesday.
The 18-tonne Kenworth semi-trailer, carrying a load of waste paper and rags, crashed into a sandstone rockface near the Berowra exit of the F3 about 6.30am, bursting into flames.
Both southbound lanes of the freeway were closed for most of the day, one opening at about 1.30pm and the other at about 4pm.
Motorists who weren't trapped on the freeway headed for the alternative Pacific Highway:
It's like trying to avoid gridlock on Sheikh Zayed Road by using Al Wasl Road!
And it's the RTA that's to blame. Sound familiar?
The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has been criticised for its handling of the incident, with traffic left banked up for at least 10 kilometres in soaring summer temperatures.
'There is a real duty of care for the RTA for the people who were stuck in this traffic jam,' said Opposition roads spokesman Duncan Gay. 'They cannot just put a sign up, walk away and hope that people will be all right. In a case like this they needed to have extra people with extra directions ... this is the sort of thing they should have been prepared for because frankly it's not unusual for this situation to happen on the F3.'
And does the standard of driving sound familiar?
The driver of the truck, Bill Barry, said he had only taken his eyes off the road for a moment. 'I was reaching down to get a drink out of my fridge.I was sort of coming along and hit the gutter there and that's when I'm into the wall.'
At the height of the blaze, six fire units and 15 crew worked to extinguish the fire in the truck and the burning paper, which had to be pulled apart and hosed down.
A HAZMAT crew was also called in to contain a spill of blazing diesel which ran down the side of the road for about 100 metres.
Where Dubai wins
There was another story that also put Dubai into perspective, something that people living here take for granted.
The lack of crime. And particularly mindless acts of random violence.
Hoons pelt cars with rocks and bottles
A RETIRED couple narrowly escaped serious injury when their car was pelted with rocks.
They were driving home from a friend's house at Tumbi Umbi along the Central Coast Highway at 9.30pm on Monday when they saw three males emerge from the bush beside Wamberal Cemetery.
Bob Watson, 65, of Avoca Beach, said the first rock put a hole in the windscreen while another glanced off the passenger-side corner centimetres from his wife's face. A third left a large dent in their front number plate.
Mr Watson said a young woman's Porsche about 150m in front of their car was also pelted with rocks and beer bottles.
'If it had gone through her open window she could have been killed,' he said. 'Her car was covered in beer, it was sloshed everywhere.'
The senseless act bore striking similarities to a rock-throwing incident on the South Coast which left a promising young beauty therapist permanently disfigured last year.
It's a real plus about living in Dubai.
We're in a fantasy bubble in Dubai and so many people lose perspective of the bigger world. My home town had problems last week which puts our traffic situation into some perspective.
Commuting into Sydney and out again in the evening is a nightmare, in all directions. There's a toll on Sydney Harbour Bridge and on many of the freeways. Sound familiar? The tolls are much more than Dh4 too.
There are just two roads going north from Sydney through the Central Coast and to Newcastle, which is a commuter area. They are the Pacific Highway and the F3 Freeway. When the F3 was completed the Pacific Highway was allowed to fall into disrepair, which means in reality there are one-and-a-half roads north.
If, as happens all too frequently, there's a major incident on the F3 it's total chaos. Sound familiar?
Last week the papers reported:
Commuters trapped again
TWO days of traffic chaos on the F3 have reignited calls for a second freeway to Sydney.
A truck crash closed the F3 for seven hours and stranded thousands of southbound holidaymakers and commuters on Tuesday. On Wednesday a pile-up northbound at Berowra injured 10 people and caused more delays.
Motorists were stuck for up to seven hours in a traffic jam in soaring summer heat after a fiery truck crash closed the F3 freeway north of Sydney on Tuesday.
The 18-tonne Kenworth semi-trailer, carrying a load of waste paper and rags, crashed into a sandstone rockface near the Berowra exit of the F3 about 6.30am, bursting into flames.
Both southbound lanes of the freeway were closed for most of the day, one opening at about 1.30pm and the other at about 4pm.
Motorists who weren't trapped on the freeway headed for the alternative Pacific Highway:
It's like trying to avoid gridlock on Sheikh Zayed Road by using Al Wasl Road!
And it's the RTA that's to blame. Sound familiar?
The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has been criticised for its handling of the incident, with traffic left banked up for at least 10 kilometres in soaring summer temperatures.
'There is a real duty of care for the RTA for the people who were stuck in this traffic jam,' said Opposition roads spokesman Duncan Gay. 'They cannot just put a sign up, walk away and hope that people will be all right. In a case like this they needed to have extra people with extra directions ... this is the sort of thing they should have been prepared for because frankly it's not unusual for this situation to happen on the F3.'
And does the standard of driving sound familiar?
The driver of the truck, Bill Barry, said he had only taken his eyes off the road for a moment. 'I was reaching down to get a drink out of my fridge.I was sort of coming along and hit the gutter there and that's when I'm into the wall.'
At the height of the blaze, six fire units and 15 crew worked to extinguish the fire in the truck and the burning paper, which had to be pulled apart and hosed down.
A HAZMAT crew was also called in to contain a spill of blazing diesel which ran down the side of the road for about 100 metres.
Where Dubai wins
There was another story that also put Dubai into perspective, something that people living here take for granted.
The lack of crime. And particularly mindless acts of random violence.
Hoons pelt cars with rocks and bottles
A RETIRED couple narrowly escaped serious injury when their car was pelted with rocks.
They were driving home from a friend's house at Tumbi Umbi along the Central Coast Highway at 9.30pm on Monday when they saw three males emerge from the bush beside Wamberal Cemetery.
Bob Watson, 65, of Avoca Beach, said the first rock put a hole in the windscreen while another glanced off the passenger-side corner centimetres from his wife's face. A third left a large dent in their front number plate.
Mr Watson said a young woman's Porsche about 150m in front of their car was also pelted with rocks and beer bottles.
'If it had gone through her open window she could have been killed,' he said. 'Her car was covered in beer, it was sloshed everywhere.'
The senseless act bore striking similarities to a rock-throwing incident on the South Coast which left a promising young beauty therapist permanently disfigured last year.
It's a real plus about living in Dubai.
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