Two types of drivers
I’ve always believed that Ramadan was all about patience and tolerance, dietary or otherwise (‘Nightmare at noon on Dubai-Sharjah road,’ Gulf News, July 2). Unfortunately, all I see are people running out of patience and driving so dangerously that I have escaped five near-death accidents in the past two days.
There seems to be two types of drivers making up the Dubai roads. There are the ones that seem so miserable to drive that they are moving extremely slowly, in a lazy manner and leave a gap of two car lengths from the car in front of them. Then, there are the ultra-fast and impatient drivers who often, due to poor judgement, end up in an accident and waste other people’s time.
From Mr Shehryar Khan
Dubai
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A safe distance
With all due respect to Shehryar Khan’s comment, leaving a two-car gap on a highway is called a ‘safe distance’ and not doing so leads to an offence called ‘tailgating,’ which is a major cause of pile-ups and road accidents across the country.
From Ms Addy
Sharjah
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Incomplete construction
The main reason for traffic on Shaikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road nowadays is due to lane closures just under the Sharjah Ring Road. The work started more than three years ago during Ramadan and it has not yet reached completion.
From Mr Rafeeq
Dubai
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Always like this
This road is almost always like this. Living in Sharjah and travelling to Dubai has always been a nightmare.
From Mr Lamaz
Dubai
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License suspensions
I have two suggestions for solving this problem on a daily basis. The first is that heavy vehicles should not be driven on the road between 3 and 7pm from Dubai to Sharjah and vice versa. Secondly, in the morning from 6 to 9am as well as in the evening, from 3 to 7pm, the driver who is guilty of causing the accident should have his or her license revoked for one month.
The bottom line is that this is something that the authorities must take serious action on. The drivers who cause the traffic jam for thousands of people without any reason must be stopped.
From Mr Rehan Iqbal
Dubai
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Hard shoulder drivers
I hope the police are going to fine the drivers shown in the photograph of this story. They are driving on the hard shoulder. This is not only an illegal move, it is extremely dangerous.
From Mr Alan Drysdale
Dubai
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Need a metro
The increase in traffic is most of the time. All drivers have high blood pressure and stress due to traffic between Dubai and Sharjah. The best way to avoid all this is to launch an immediate project for a Metro connecting to the first station of Dubai. This will ease the lives of thousands of commuting families and growing kids to reach work and school on time. The stretch to be built is approximately 8 kilometres only.
From Mr Nauman,
UK
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Scary driving
In terms of driving, this has been the scariest Ramadan for me on the road. Recently, just going to fill my car with petrol before heading to work, I experienced no less than three rather frightening near-misses. Because the other person behind the wheel is either completely not there or raging with uncontrollable aggression.
Now, I drive to work later in the morning, and I leave work again during iftar itself because this is when the roads are empty. The past three days have left my nerves absolutely shredded.
From Ms Sarah Louise
Sharjah
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Sharjah train
I think a Metro link to Sharjah is the most necessary thing to do. An Etihad Rail could also take a lot of passengers in the future. This would really reduce the traffic on the roads.
From Mr Sebo
Dubai
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An extra road
I think both the cities have to connect a new road or bridge from Al Mamzar to Al Taawun or the Corniche area. I think this would be better than connecting a Metro line towards Sharjah because that may be another two to five years to complete the project
From Mr Akbar
Dubai
Roads and signage
The problem is not with Dubai, it’s the traffic coming from Sharjah. When you enter Sharjah, I feel like people forget how to drive. I also find that the roads are narrower in Sharjah with minimum or no signage. Dubai has a three-lane road whereas Sharjah has only two-lane roads and this is causing a bottleneck and pain for the commuters.
From Mr Adil
Dubai
Tolerance and patience
Rash driving hours before iftar has become a serious concern in the UAE. It is indeed hectic to be in traffic after long hours of fasting in the summer heat, but Ramadan is a month of tolerance and patience. It is very important for the drivers to drive patiently so that they won’t risk their lives and those of others. I hope that people understand the gravity of the issue and start driving carefully.
From Ms Afra
Sharjah
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Overpaying
When we address the issue of piracy, the issue is not from the people who use channels without paying (‘Region’s broadcasters score against pirates,’ Gulf News, July 2). It’s people like me who pay a lot and don’t feel that they are getting what they paid for.
When the network provider in the UAE charges Dh300 a month for channels, which mostly you won’t watch and you have to pay additionally for some packages that are at least useful, with Dh200 a year, you get all channels through these setup boxes.
When I pay Dh300 a month and cannot watch the World Cup, this bothers me. I feel like it’s the smart guys who pay Dh200 a year and watch football and cricket.
So why don’t the network providers give channels at a reasonable price? Ultimately, I feel I am overpaying and I remain underprivileged because I don’t violate the law. I received a call from my service provider to pay Dh450 a month to watch the World Cup, and I cannot afford it. I’m sorry to say, it’s corporate greed
From Mr Vinod
Dubai
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Questioning charges
I want to go further and ask the local service providers what I am getting even after paying around Dh500 for a home package and few extra channels. People are ready to pay but at least show all the channels available. And these World Cup charges, they are just out of this world. Why are service providers not questioned on the extraordinarily high pricing and World Cup charges?
From Mr Vijay
Dubai
More realistic pricing
No one would use illegal boxes if the local service providers gave services at a decent cost. For someone who has just got a basic subscription, if they want to watch the World Cup, the local service providers charge is Dh690 just for the World Cup.
From Mr George
Dubai
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Discounts
They need to look into why there are ‘significant discounts’ offered by cable providers outside, when compared to what is available here. If you have these significant differences, then you will automatically create a grey market.
From Mr Hassan
Dubai
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United sentiments
All of the above comments really unite the sentiments. I fully agree with those who raised their voice against the above article. The simple fact is that we want the service for what we paid for instead of making quick perks with unwanted channels or blocking channels for certain events or making them paid. I hope the authorities do something about this.
From Mr Jos Cardozo
Dubai
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Can’t afford food
This is the same story every year (‘Shoppers notice increase in food prices during Ramadan,’ Gulf News, July 2). The authorities warned these retailers not to increase the price, but the retailers ignore the orders and increase the prices the most they can. If the authorities allow them to increase the price, then you will not be able to purchase anything. You can only afford water and dates to break your fast.
From Mr Mohammad
Abu Dhabi
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No cameras
I want to know why the concerned authorities are not taking any action against this type of issue. I wish they could have already noticed before Ramadan. I used to work in some hypermarkets in Dubai and inside the market there are many places without cameras. Most of the missing parts and the changing of barcodes of items were happening from there. When one manager reported this issue to the security manager, he said that they will put one sign in the window, which will say that the area was monitored by cameras and customers will not do such things. But nothing happened, even after they put up that board. This incident reminds me of my past. The authorities have to do something about this issue.
From Mr Umesh Dahal
Sharjah
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