Sharjah
I have been living in this country for the past 20 years. I have great admiration for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Police for the wonderful road infrastructure, safety measures and humane approach. Additionally, I thank them for giving the dwellers of Dubai a platform to suggest improvements to their services online.
Through this community report, I want to invite the attention of the RTA and Dubai Police to the mishaps happening regularly near the Al Khail Gate community, in Dubai’s Al Quoz.
I commute between Sharjah and Dubai every day and pass through the community, too. At the exit leading towards Al Khail Road, there is a small divider. It is a short, small and galvanised one and it does not have any warning reflector on it and as such, does not draw the attention of the drivers from a distance. At the time of sunset, a driver can hardly see it.
One can only manage to see it when they’re too close to avoid it. I have witnessed many accidents involving vehicles hitting the barrier. Once, a jeep crashed into the divider and caught fire; it had to be extinguished by a fire truck. A few days ago, I saw a car severely damaged after hitting the divider, which showed the intensity of the accident, and I suppose the driver would have sustained serious injuries.
After the occurrence of each accident, the damaged divider has been changed to look exactly as it did before the crash, without a warning reflector on it. While passing through, I have witnessed it damaged on various occasions, but the scenario has been the same after each accident.
Will the RTA look into this to avoid serious accidents from occurring here over and over again? They could install a divider tall enough, with a warning reflector, so that drivers can see the barrier from a distance and drive safely.
— The reader is based in Sharjah.
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