Three wishes for the new year

The festive season, often a time for reflection, is well and truly underway. The other day I witnessed a scene in Dubai that has remained in my thoughts.

Driving into a supermarket lot, which was busy in the end-of-year kind of way, I noticed an elderly man approach a car that was making its way out of a parking bay. He appeared to be trying to draw the drivers attention to something going on in the car and indicated that the occupants should put on their seat belts.

The SUV was being driven by a thirty-something chap. Beside him were two kids standing in the passenger seat and on the back seat, another two leaning forward. Four kids in a car without seatbelts, and from what I could glimpse a couple of them should have been in child safety seats.

The elderly fellow clearly meant well, but the driver went mental. He stomped on the brakes, sending the kids went flying. He got out in a huff and stormed up to the elderly man, having a real go at him.

He said it is his prerogative to drive without seatbelts and went on and on in this vein. The elderly chap shook his head, side stepped the vile-spewing individual and walked briskly away, having made his point. The irate driver promptly got back into his car and roared out of the parking, after blocking everyone for the five minutes.

The old guy was absolutely correct, but was it his right to have a word with the driver of the car about what was going on inside his vehicle? How should one react when something wrong is happening right in front of your eyes? Is it our business?

It’s a debatable point. I for one will seldom intervene here in the UAE, where I live. If I see something amiss, I would rather keep quiet. This is against my nature. Ironically, if I was at home in South Africa or in Europe - where my wife is from – I would not hesitate to make a comment when I feel the need. For sure if I saw four kids in the back of a car without seat belts I would take issue with the driver because, in my book, this would squarely be his responsibility.

With this in mind I started having thoughts about New Year’s resolutions and the ‘goodie two shoes’ in me started listing ways to make 2013 better than the last year. But New Year resolutions, as we all know, are only good for a few weeks.

So this year I have canned the resolution idea and have created a wish-list for 2013. It is a long list, including some of them personal and professional wishes. Of course, the need for cash, a Ferrari and a boat -- all really necessary - are in there.

The Good Samaritan in me had three wishes for our roads in the UAE:

* Speed kills. I wish that drivers realise that speeding on public roads is criminal and without doubt the greatest killer out there. I wish they all realise that taking it easy on a 15 or 20 minute commute is better for the soul. The difference in arrival times is not worth the risk of death.

* I wish that as soon as a driver and passengers sit in their cars, seat belts automatically wrap around them. But, that technology is not here yet, so that one will have to wait.

Instead may everyone buckle up on any journey, be it around the corner to the shops or on a cross country trek. Safety belts save lives.

*I wish patience for everyone on the roads. Throw in some consideration, a dollop of tolerance, a sprinkling of restraint and we have ingredients that, I believe, will create an environment for hassle-free driving.

Having said all this, the supermarket car park incident still bugs me intensely. So I am going to push my luck and ask for a fourth wish: Give me the resolve to stand up for what is right - just like the elderly chap, who took it on the chin but made his point.

With that, may I take this opportunity to wish readers of this column and Gulf News a great New Year and a 2013 full of promise and prosperity. And, may you have a safe year on the roads.

The writer is Corporate Communications Manager at Dubai Autodrome llc.