A Tragic Week On Dubai's Roads

Actually it seems that every week is a tragic one, with an average of one death every single day so far this year. But in the last few days the papers have been reporting the human stories behind these statistics. A guy killed in the wee small hours when the car he was a passenger in plunged off the Maktoum Bridge and into the Creek (the bridge has a lifting section to allow the passage of small ships - it is opened about 3am each day and there are plenty of warnings and flashing lights). Another guy hit by a vehicle trying to 'undertake' a bus on the hard shoulder - the victim was changing a tyre. And a young chap smashed into by a speeding driver as he was pushing his car to a petrol station.

We go on and on and on about the lousy driving standards in this town. But nothing ever gets done about it. Speed cameras are not the answer: driver education and acceptance of responsibility are. And it would certainly not go amiss if the Police started to act like they actually care about this problem.

Oh, and how about enforcing the law that says car windows cannot have a tint of more than 30%? Like, every day, not just once a year when the car goes for registration? If you cannot see out of your damn windows you certainly cannot begin to drive safely, especially not at night.