Opinion | Your Say
Breaking the chain
While waiting for three minutes to get through a junction, I began wondering how many pedestrians would go through an opened door in three minutes.
- By Robert L. Fielding
- Published: 01:00 April 11, 2008
While waiting for three minutes to get through a junction, I began wondering how many pedestrians would go through an opened door in three minutes. At about one every three seconds, approximately 60 people would be in a three minute queue, given that there were no obstacles to entering through the door.
Using that rough calculation of three seconds per person at every hold up, a simple journey like going to a mall in Al Ain would be like being held up by hundreds of people, depending on the time of day. In the early morning there would be fewer people as opposed to later on in the day.
In the evening, the number of people in queues would rise again. Waiting would reach intolerable levels, and frustrations would increase accordingly.
Communicating
If walking anywhere were anything like going by car has become, few would venture out at all. As it is, we still get into our cars even though we know that we will have to queue at traffic signals, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings that have lights, and anywhere where the law demands that we slow down to stop and wait.
There are several important differences between waiting in a queue in your car and waiting one on foot; on foot, you can at least leave the queue or not get caught up in it at all, whereas in a vehicle, changing your mind isn't always an option. You can't interact with anyone in front of you or behind you in the queue, whereas standing around waiting invariably leads to chatting to pass the time, and makes it more bearable.
Communicating with people usually means you come to relate to them, removing any animosity between people queuing. Being stuck in a traffic jam on Shaikh Zayed Road does little to endear your fellow motorists to you, or you to them. All the honking we do testifies to that sad fact.
Now do you see why people suffer from road rage and take risks to avoid anything that looks like a queue? We speed, overtake and generally behave like mad men behind the wheel. Tempers fray and stress ratchets up until mistakes are made and stupidity causes people to get hurt in needless accidents.
Get some therapy, put some soothing music on, or better, a talking book. Play games — but only when the car is stopped.
Whatever works for you is okay and should get you to your intended destination rather than an ambulance or worse!
— The writer is a Gulf News reader, a language lecturer in Al Ain and a published author.
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