Trucks and buses should stay to the right!
Road safety starts with training and is supported by law enforcement (‘Speeding motorist crashes into parked truck, dies’, Gulf News, January 16). Drivers and their companies must be fined for driving outside of the right lanes and there should be significant fines for stopping on the left shoulder. This is the problem with truck drivers. They are not trained to drive only in the right hand lanes. This needs to be more strictly enforced here on our roads, which are modeled on the Western system.
Had the truck driver been driving in the lanes he was supposed to, he would have been able to pull over on the appropriate side of the road. We need to keep trucks and buses to the right lanes!
From Mr Cam McDonald
UAE
Facebook comment
Both at fault
I understand your point, but according to the report, the victim was speeding and not paying attention. Unfortunately, that in itself, is not the truck driver’s fault. If people drove properly in the right lanes and within speed limits, none of these accidents would happen.
From Ms Emma Victoria Sims
Dubai
Facebook comment
Don’t stop in the fast lane
Why was the pickup truck parked in the fast lane? How is this possible? The truck driver is just as much responsible for the other driver’s death. This should be punished. Nowhere in the world can you park in a fast lane without having a serious emergency, hazards on and the triangles in place. This could have been prevented.
From Ms Mihaela Elhaj
Dubai
Facebook comment
Parked on the left?
Exactly my thoughts, too, Ms Mihaela Elhaj. The news reflects on the speed, but no news why the truck was parked on the left side!
From Mr Sadaf Afzal
UAE
Facebook comment
Get out of car
Agreed! Plus, he was still sitting in the parked vehicle. No road sense whatsoever, even if he had broken down, he should have gotten out of the pickup!
From Ms Angel Bronson
UAE
Facebook comment
Pay attention
Speeding with a lack of control plus not giving full attention to the road is the cause of many accidents. The truck parked in the fast lane could have been for many possible reasons, like a breakdown or something! If you hit a car in front of you, then it’s your mistake. Just drive carefully and it will help you to avoid the worst situations.
From Mr Abdul Jabbar Bhatti
DubaI
Facebook comment
Let it not discourage us
The loss of the five Emirati diplomats in a terrorist attack at Kandahar, Afghanistan is a great loss, not only for the nation, but to the entire world (‘Hamdan Bin Mohammad offers condolences’, Gulf News, January 16). They were martyred while engaged in a noble, charitable and humanitarian cause. This is a barbaric and ghastly act of terrorism by certain radicalised elements in the name of Jihad. The entire nation needs to strongly condemn such attacks on innocent people by certain terrorists groups. Terrorism is the biggest menace against humanity in this century, which is spreading all over the world. Such incidents should not discourage the charitable and philanthropic agencies in continuing their services to the poor, needy, under privileged and people in distress.
We salute the martyrs for their daring contribution towards humanitarian pursuits, which shall remain immortal.
From Mr K. Singhal
Dubai
Tackling water consumption
Whether it is a developed country or a developing country in any place of progress, water will be one of the greatest concerns for keeping their integrity in the future (‘GCC water challenges are an opportunity to lead the world’, Gulf News, January 11). The opinion comments are raising some valuable questions about the future of the water equation, which helps sustain life on Earth.
Development of infrastructure does take a large volume of natural resources for their creation, particularly water being a critical component in the formula. It is, therefore, imperative to have some kind of regulatory measures in the making of new and innovative structures.
As the planet has been warming up in recent times, the results are evident in the form of draught and disappearing flora and fauna.
Water being the very basic requirement to fulfil the fundamentals of existence, the more we save it today, the less concern for everyone in the future, including the generation in waiting.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
Oman
Ambitious goals
The Paris climate summit agreement saw governments — both rich and poor — from across the world voluntarily agree to a binding commitment to keep the temperature rise to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (‘Letter to the editor: push alternative energy’, Gulf News, January 17). In order to attain this goal, a well-planned reduction in carbon emissions along with a large scale switch to renewable energy must be assiduously pursued in both developed and developing nations.
The fact that developing nations will not have time to indiscriminately industrialise now and make reparations later, emphasises the importance of investing in the cost-cutting, efficient renewable technologies developed so far. Moving forward in that direction also provides them with more potential for large-scale growth and development. Though goals for energy transformation are ambitious, they can be achieved through the systematic and sustained implementation of policies involving governments, industries and members of the community that quickly cover a large area.
From Ms Aasha Eapen
UAE
Ferry tragedy
The painful ferry tragedy certainly brings to the forefront factors responsible for the frequent boat accidents in India, such as overcrowding, poor maintenance, lax regulations and lack of safety equipment, like life jackets (‘Death toll in Ganges boat capsize at 26’, Gulf News, January 16). We claim to be ‘smart’ people living in a modern era, but this smartness and modernity is meaningless if we are not able to utilise it to avert such common accidents. We can make mammoth missions such as voyages and journeys to Mars and to the moon possible, but we are unable to ensure the safe operation of an adequate number of boats to ferry our people across the rivers. Isn’t this shocking, embarrassing and thought provoking? Many human lives could be saved if the problem of overcrowding of boats was be seriously banned. Boats capsize each and every year followed by condolences to the bereaved family, but what is the use of crying over spilt milk? Having access to WiFi and going digital is not the only yardstick of assessing smartness, but ensuring that such disasters do not recur would certainly be a smart accomplishment!
From Ms Shaheen Nazar
Sharjah
Can’t wait for society
Molestation, sexual harassment, teasing and ogling is a universal phenomenon (‘How women in India are dealing with fear’, Gulf News, October 20). Women all over the world are facing these atrocities. India is no exception. It is not only girls and women in metropolitan cities, but even in small towns and villages that become prey to ugly incidents. Gone are the days when women hardly went out of the kitchen and children used to be their domain. Today’s women are career-oriented. They need to go out, travel alone and do a number of things single handedly. Hence, protecting themselves is their first priority. They cannot rely on their fathers, brothers or husbands to accompany them everywhere nor can they wait for society to change or men’s mindsets to alter. They want to counterattack to defend themselves and this is why they are learning martial arts and staying well-equipped with pepper spray to teach lessons to their predators.
From Ms Jayashree Kulkarni
Abu Dhabi
Facebook comment
The people’s choice
It was good to read that the former Indian cricketer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician joined Congress for his second innings in his political career (‘Navjot Sidhu finally joins Congress’, Gulf News, January 16). It’s the latest development in Indian politics. Will his entry yield any favourable result in the upcoming Punjab election to Congress? We will have to wait and see.
In politics anything may happen at any time, but accepting the candidate is in the hands of the people. Ultimately, people have to decide.
From Mr K. Ragavan
Bengaluru, India
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