News of the ‘twin tragedies’ car accidents ruined my day
Three students were killed in a fatal road accident on Al Dhaid Road and Al Madam Road in Sharjah on Friday, followed with another one in which three siblings were also killed while their mother and two other children were seriously injured (‘Road tragedies claim 6 young lives in UAE’, Gulf News, March 13). This broke my heart. The police department has to act immediately to investigate these accidents and do some remedial steps to prevent such accidents in future. These fatal accidents ruined my day because I myself am a victim of an accident. The motorists must realise that speed thrills, but it kills.
From Mr Sunny Joseph Mala
Kerala, India
Rest on long drives
Drivers, especially heavy truck drivers, should not drive their vehicles more than five hours continuously without breaks. After every five hours, they should take a break and get proper rest. Driving without proper rest and sleep can cause fatal accidents. People who drive long distances should take care.
From Mr M. A. Mannan
Abu Dhabi
A large price to pay
It is terribly sad to hear that three lives were lost due to recklessness on the part of one driver who made a wrong decision at a red light and now he pays a heavy price for it. If only motorists would drive cautiously and remain patient on the roads, such tragic incidents would not occur. It must be devastating for the families of the victims since they lost their young sons who had their entire life ahead of them.
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Sharjah
Facebook comment
Parents in shock
God knows when people will start driving safely. Three young lives are gone, leaving their parents in shock for their whole lives.
From Mr Raj Kumar Jalan
UAE
Facebook comment
Harsh punishment needed
This is heartbreaking and not acceptable that everyday there is a fatal accident killing family members and children because of bad drivers! It is time for harsher penalties and punishments.
From Ms Rana Abu Samaha
Abu Dhabi
Facebook comment
Prevent accidents
It seems useless to cry and blame others after accidents that are easy to predict by looking at how some drivers are acting on the road. Drivers that are caught reckless driving or those who have only recently gotten their driving licences for heavy trucks, they must have stronger restrictions for at least two years. Now we are crying over the death of an innocent family.
From Mr Carlo Bini
UAE
Facebook comment
Ensure rested employees
Utterly tragic. Please also implement tracking devices so these drivers are not expected to drive for long periods of time. When a driver has driven for two days to make deliveries on time, his employer is at fault. Some of these men have no choice to argue!
From Ms Sheena Smith
UAE
Facebook comment
No reason to speed
Stop exaggerating, no one can drive for two days straight without a break, even if forced by the employer. It’s impossible that the human body can be pushed that far. This is not a reason for speeding.
From Ms Huda N Dhalie
UAE
Facebook comment
Timers at red lights
I think that timers should be introduced in signals so that drivers can judge when the red light will come. Speed can be controlled accordingly and reduce accidents.
From Mr Varghese Peter
UAE
Facebook comment
Over speeding
Punishment needs to be strict. These truck drivers can be seen driving very fast on highways at speeds that aren’t safe for a vehicle of that size.
From Ms Yuna Summoner
UAE
Facebook comment
Seatbelts on children
Seatbelts also need to be enforced and encouraged more. I have seen children in cars not wearing seatbelts and standing in cars. This is not safe and they shouldn’t get away with it. Parents need to teach their children safety first.
From Mr Dipesh Makwana
Dubai
Facebook comment
Didn’t have a chance
You’re absolutely right, Mr Dipesh Makwana. Sadly, the way the car is crushed, even with seatbelts, they didn’t stand a chance. It’s heartbreaking.
From Ms Emma Schlegel
UAE
Facebook comment
Media coverage important
It’s very sad. We all drive and no matter how careful we are, we are afraid that anyone is liable to encounter such accidents due to reckless drivers, who should be punished. Those lives have been lost, and these types of accidents should be brought up in the media and the driver should be punished in public to reduce such recklessness.
From Ms Kulsoom Sadiq
UAE
Facebook comment
No room for mistakes
When a traffic light turns green, you still should make sure your way is clear. Some drivers speed up on yellow lights, especially on those signals without cameras. There is no room for mistakes, especially when you’re not alone. Your passenger’s life is in your hands. Drive safely, everyone!
From Ms Crystal Hines
UAE
Facebook comment
Reasons for rules
This is the reason why traffic rules are made - they are used to ensure the safety of the people if you follow those rules. Anyhow, rest in peace to the deceased.
From Mr Abdul Rahman
UAE
Facebook comment
Get Sharapova back on the court
In any discipline of sports, drug cheating needs to be cracked down on unceremoniously (‘Athletes owe it to spectators to play clean’, Gulf News, March 13). Recently, Maria Sharapova’s case was shocking news to me and many million tennis fans all over the world, although she admitted to have tested positive for meldonium. The main changes to the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme for 2016 should have been well attended.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) should display or publish the banned drug list to all professional players’ circuit prior to beginning of any tournaments in advance. As in this case here, Sharapova was taking these pills for her illness on her doctor’s advice. She should definitely defend herself.
The players are so busy jet-setting around the world for playing individual games, they get less time to periodically check their mail. Of course, there are paid executives to attend these matters, but then human error and mistakes cannot be ruled out.
We all pray for the best to happen to Sharapova. I am proud of her to admit it in front of the world. We want to see her determined and coming back to the court, clean from this obstacle soon.
From Mr M. K. Gunaseelan
Abu Dhabi
New threat in T-20 World Cup
Kudos to the Afghanistan team for their excellent and consistent performance to qualify for the Super 10s of the International Cricket Council (ICC) T-20 World Cup (‘Afghanistan hammer Zimbabwe, enter Super 10s’, Gulf News, March 13). It augurs well for the game of cricket and this should open the eyes of the ICC not to take the associate members lightly. Coming to the match against Zimbabwe, it was creditable that they recovered from a precarious position of 63 for four to post a healthy target of 187. Thanks to Samiullah Shenwari and Mohammad Nabi’s partnership of a near century. Then it was the bowlers, ably lead by Nabi, all the way to the post.
At this rate, I feel this Afghanistan team would give some headache to all the teams in Group One.
From Mr Vinay Mahadevan
Mylapore, India
Bless medical staff for saving lives
My son Faizan Ali, who is three years old, was admitted to a hospital on February 18 for an emergency appendectomy. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I am so grateful to the excellent team of doctors and surgeons who operated on him and the nurses who took care of my child during his two-week stay.
But I was assured by the doctors who responded to his condition that he will be perfectly fine after the surgery. Their confidence, honesty and dedication to their work made my son pull through. He was operated twice because of some complications.
Moreover, the hospital even helped me to settle the bill of Dh20,000 with instalments on a monthly basis. He is recovering now and is at home safe with his family and enjoying pampering.
God bless you all – medical personnel who safe our lives every day.
From Mr Adnan Munawar
UAE
Editor’s note: Is there a news report that you feel strongly about? Something that has to be addressed in the community and requires resolution? Email us on readers@gulfnews.com. You can also post a comment on our Facebook page or tweet to us @GNReaders.
