Awareness is key
I would suggest dealing with some other issues as well, such as a dedicated lane for emergency vehicles (‘Dubai Ambulance adds Lotus, Mustang,’ Gulf News, October 13). Has anyone seen how emergency vehicles struggle to get into Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), for instance? Also, further implementation is needed to reduce the number of accidents. I find that driving behaviour, such as sudden lane changes, tailgating and speeding, are key reasons for accidents in the city. Drivers actually start turning and only then do they use their indicator. Awareness, awareness and more awareness is key. Taxi drivers and other motorists assume that inner lanes are okay for overtaking. Also, if you are in front of someone and trying to change lanes, you have to speed up a lot as some drivers don’t give you a chance to pass by. Before you know it, you are speeding, because you have been forced into it and then within moments, you can be stopped by traffic congestion — a reason for many of the accidents, as well. Community patrols on motorbikes, with first aid kits for larger communities and areas, are necessary. Great effort by Dubai Police, I wish them luck.
From Ms Jojo
Dubai
Website comment
Need motorbikes
I don’t understand why the authorities chose sports cars over motorbikes to be the vehicle for first responders in Dubai. If the aim is to provide first aid to victims immediately, then they should have used sports bikes capable of carrying saddle bags and first aid kits. Whatever the speed of the car may be, it will never go faster than a regular ambulance due to the traffic. With the cost of the car, perhaps six or more motorbikes could have been purchased, which would also have been capable of reaching the speed of a sports car.
From Mr Akhil Surendran
Chennai, India
Website comment
Traffic issues
I don’t think that the problem was the speed of the ambulances, rather the shortage of streets and the traffic congestion at rush hour, which delays the response. The authorities should be more careful with sports cars, as with such a high speed, it could be the cause of an accident due to other drivers not knowing how to respond to a fast car coming up from behind them.
From Mr Suhail
Dubai
Website comment
Full speed
These sports cars are intended to be first response vehicles, which are normally there before anyone else, at the scene of an accident. In my country, they are normally two highly-qualified paramedics. They are there to stabilise the patient until an ambulance arrives on the scene. I think this move will make for speedy arrivals in the future.
From Ms Lorraine Tiedt
Muscat, Oman
Facebook comment
Truly caring
This is excellent and I truly admire the authorities’ approach of adding these vehicles. It shows that the authorities are thinking carefully and that they truly care — these are beautiful machines too!
From Ms Sandra Jane Peters
Silverdale, UK
Facebook comment
Appreciate it
This is great! What more can we ask for, from this very generous country? The real question is — what can we do as expatriates to give back to this country, where we get to develop our dreams, live decently and safely? The point I’m trying to make is, why the negativity? I think some people are a bit insecure that the UAE can provide such luxury when most countries can’t. I don’t think the negative feedback is necessary — it’s uncalled for. Better yet, read the news carefully before making comments.
From Ms Faye
Dubai
Website comment
Great thinking
Congratulations to the country for implementing drone inspections to improve labour standards (‘Drone copters to inspect UAE construction sites,’ Gulf News, October 13). It’s a great idea — many projects in the UAE keep high safety and environmental standards, even in remote areas. But on the downside, we can see a lot of building construction sites, even on the side of main city roads, where people are working without adequate safety measures and without a systematic form of work. I find that in some cases there is no protection at heights, no safety handrails and no safety nets. I hope the authorities will ensure that all UAE projects are maintaining the same standard of safety.
From Ms M. A.
Dubai
Website comment
A political mafia
For sure, I think someone has benefited from the billions that have gone missing in Iraq (‘Missing Iraq billions ends up in Lebanese bunker,’ Gulf News, October 13). I think it’s people like former US President George W. Bush, who created the war without proof of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The money was transferred to Iraq from US taxpayers and now he is living in luxury with no accountability to the thousands of lives lost in Iraq. Purely, a well-planned political mafia.
From Mr Oscar
US
Website comment
Excellent recycling efforts
I have personally witnessed the strides that Abu Dhabi has made in the ‘reuse, reduce and recycle’ concept (‘Abu Dhabi to recycled 100% of waste water,’ Gulf News, October 13). This includes the projects based on natural and renewable energy sources, that were undertaken by Abu Dhabi. It is a commendable achievement.
From Ms Venkat
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
Action for fake Haj permits
I am sure the authorities will take strict action against the culprits who have given out fake Haj permits to UAE pilgrims (‘100 UAE Haj pilgrims scammed,’ Gulf News, October 13). These people are making money and fooling pilgrims. I think that the money should be given back to the people who have already suffered trying to do their pilgrimage.
From Mr Prem
Dubai
Website comment
Sad circumstances
Really sad to know how lost the pilgrims were on the occasion. The authorities should hunt down the scammers who have done this and give them hard punishments. I can imagine the humiliation and agony they must have gone through.
From Ms Asma Sid
Dubai
Website comment
Not intentional
After carefully reading the article, I am hesitant to outrightly say that this was a planned scam. It appears to me that this could have been a genuine campaign, but poorly organised. Such cases are not new. I don’t think that the person behind the campaign would have gone to the extent of receiving the pilgrims and even allocating the rooms in a four-star hotel if he was indeed a scammer.
From Mr Khalid Mansour
Dubai
Website comment
A scandalous crime
Do these scammers really not think before committing such scandalous crimes? I don’t understand how they could cheat pilgrims. What will they do when the time comes to answer to God?
From Ms Mousa Shah
Dubai
Website comment
Intriguing proposal
It is very surprising to note that the most sacrosanct and traditional institution of marriage is being commercialised to the core by people who look for spouses online, like the wealthy woman in the report (‘Wealthy Saudi businesswoman’s Twitter search for loving husband,’ Gulf News, October 13). In traditional families, marriage is still viewed as a pure bond between two individuals who agree to spend their life together, in both happiness and sorrow. Therefore, before marriage is solemnised, the two families gather as much information as possible to avoid any mistakes. That’s why I think that this particular case raises a few questions. What do all the people who have replied to her ‘proposal’ know about this woman, other than that she has a lot of wealth? If this woman had no wealth, would they have still married her? Tomorrow, if she loses all her wealth, would they continue with their marriage? Well, whatever the answers may be, one thing is for sure: it would be very interesting for a psychologist to study the profile and behaviour of all those people who responded to her ‘marriage invitation’.
From Ms Suhas Inamdar
Dubai
Greed prevails
The world has a number of greedy people who always run towards every shiny thing, regardless of the background of the story. Firstly, the advertisement seems like a joke and made by someone just passing time, by merely seeing the reaction of people. Secondly, the interested and greedy people should at least find out the reason for her divorce.
From Mr Mumtaz Hussain
Dubai
Website comment
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