Lorries lined up in a parking lot at Jebel Ali Port.
Lorries lined up in a parking lot at Jebel Ali Port.

Beware the sleeping lorry drivers



Drunk drivers, flooding, sand on the motorway, drag racers - none of those are the greatest peril for motorists in Al Gharbia.

That dishonour goes to lorry drivers, especially the ones who are half asleep.

Severe crashes in the region are often caused by drowsy truck drivers who forego sleep to earn the extra money to be gained by faster delivery.

"When they come from Saudi Arabia, the lorry drivers, they don't sleep actually, and they come tired to Abu Dhabi, to Ghweifat," said Lt Col Ahmed Al Zayoudi, head of the crash section for Abu Dhabi Police.

"They want to work hard without sleeping and there's no place for them to rest. The problem is with lorries and big buses, when there are accidents they are big accidents and a lot of people die."

The municipality has called on the emirate's Department of Transport officials for more regulation on overweight lorries, and a truck road from Madinat Zayed to Liwa is planned.

It is hoped that the 2013 opening of first section of Etihad Rail will alleviate some problems.

The 226-kilometre line between Habshan and Ruwais is to connect to Shah by 2014 and eventually other emirates and GCC countries.

According to Nooh Al Hammadi, business development manager for Etihad Rail, a fully loaded train can replace 300 lorries.

Adnan Al Hammadi, an Emirati business student from Mirfa, has had two close calls with lorries on the E11. On one occasion, he could see the lorry driver drifting off to asleep.

"Inside Mirfa the roads are fine but the problem is the main roads that connect the western region," he said. "At night we cannot see other trucks, other cars. There is no lighting and it's very dangerous. Sometimes you find some pieces of vehicles on the roads."

Road and infrastructure projects are badly needed, he said. He has lost two friends because of the dangerous roads of Al Gharbia.

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RACE RESULTS

1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1hr 21min 48.527sec
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012 
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps

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The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

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The Africa Institute 101

Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction. 

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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

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Rating: 5/5

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Brief scoreline:

Tottenham 1

Son 78'

Manchester City 0

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Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

MO
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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now


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