ABU DHABI // Motorists need to be educated on the dangers of speeding and reckless driving to strengthen and complement enforcement efforts, experts said.
In recent months, police have increased patrols, rolled out fixed and mobile speed cameras and adjusted speed limits.
The measures are to increase speed limit compliance, while reducing death and serious injuries on the roads.
More police patrols and speed cameras will be installed along the Abu Dhabi-Sila and Abu Dhabi-Al Ain Road, police said last month.
Dubai Police will introduce point-to-point speed cameras, which calculate the average speed of vehicles, to monitor drivers who accelerate between two speed cameras on roads where accidents are common.
Phil Clarke, principal road safety consultant at Transport Research Laboratory, welcomed their introduction.
“Average speed cameras have proved more effective at managing speeds on long arterial roads in Europe and the UK, and would work better than fixed-site cameras on similar roads in the UAE.”
Different measures of speed control are useful but not the end solution, said Simon Labbett, project director at Sheida, an Omani road safety body.
“Speed limit compliance is only one part of safe driving,” he said. “Attitude and behaviour as well as responsibility for self and others need to be addressed to achieve safe roads.”
Changing reckless behaviour will be difficult, said Michael Dreznes, executive vice-president of the International Road Federation. “Do motorists understand how few minutes they are saving by driving 70 kilometres an hour versus 50kph over a short distance?” he said.
“The savings in time does not justify the potential dangers and enforcement consequences.”
Penalties for speeding and reckless driving, Mr Dreznes said, must be “severe enough that the fear of conviction is an active deterrent”.
Sanctions to restrict or remove the right to drive need to be further developed and effectively enforced, Mr Labbett said.
“In a society where individual wealth is far higher than average, a traffic fine may be perceived as a rite of passage,” he said. “Fines are not addressing the behavioural mindset that will lead to a safer society.”
The Federal Traffic Council in April last year suggested detaining people who did not follow the rules of the road or who broke the speed limit by more than 60kph.
In August, Abu Dhabi Police scrapped the 50 per cent discount in the cost of traffic fines to improve safety.
“The police are doing a lot to try to tackle speeding, but the focus needs to be on deterrence,” Mr Clarke said. “If enforcement is about improving road safety, better compliance is required, this will ultimately reduce accidents.”
Many of the UAE’s roads are designed for high speeds, but the wide range of speeds pose a problem, Mr Clarke said.
“A vehicle travelling at 140kph closing on other vehicles travelling at say 80kph or 100kph provides little time for driver reactions, and can lead to sudden swerving to avoid a collision and then loss of control,” he said.
“Many vehicles are sports utility vehicles, which are heavy and have a higher centre of gravity than ordinary cars, so at high speed can easily become unstable and overturn.”
rruiz@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
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Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.
Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.
Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures: Monday, first 50-over match; Wednesday, second 50-over match; Thursday, third 50-over match
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars