The National
Photo Speaks – THE NATIONAL Dt. 26.09.2010 – Abu Dhabi motorists face morning traffic chaos
Photo Speaks – THE NATIONAL Dt. 26.09.2010 – Abu Dhabi motorists face morning traffic chaos
Abu Dhabi motorists face morning traffic chaos
Traffic is grid locked on in this view of a Salam street intersection. Courtesy Ramesh Menon
Abu Dhabi motorists face morning traffic chaos
Last Updated: September 26. 2010 12:10PM UAE / September 26. 2010 8:10AM GMT
Accidents in the city centre and on the roads leading into the capital have caused chaos on the roads this morning.
Commuters on Sheikh Zayed Road heading towards Abu Dhabi are currently stuck in gridlock after the part of road opposite Al Rahba Hospital was closed forcing drivers to crawl along a two lane side street.
The Abu Dhabi police, through their twitter page have advised that motorists exercise caution in the tourist Club Area, Al Najda street, Al Salam street and Hamdan street, where there are heavy traffic jams.
Earlier this morning motorists were held up as much as an hour by a seven car accident on the interchange before Mussafah bridge. According to Abu Dhabi police twitter site, the area was clear by 9.40am.
* The National
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Car flips over in Dubai crash – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 21.09.2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 21.09.2010 – Car flips over in Dubai crash
Car flips over in Dubai crash
DUBAI // Four vehicles, including a taxi, collided on Sheikh Zayed Road this morning.
The incident occurred in the Abu Dhabi-bound fast lane, near the Internet City exit. One of the vehicles was flipped onto its roof in the crash.
The accident, which occurred at 8am, caused congestion to Oasis Centre in the Al Quoz area.
Police cleared the wreckage from the scene and traffic was free-flowing by 10am. No serious injuries were reported, according to Dubai Police.
My comments as follows:
Added: 09/21/10 03:49:00 PM
These drivers, they will never learn. I think, only solution here is to have all the cars fitted with speed controllers which restricts a driver to speed above 120 kms.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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Restart traffic safety campaigns – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 23.09.2010
Restart traffic safety campaigns
I refer to Commuters back, schools back … and tailback (September 20). Summer holidays are over and schools have started a new academic year. Back to work and back to the old problems. Traffic, traffic, traffic everywhere. The media should restart their traffic safety awareness campaigns as they did successfully last year.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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Suggestion for customer service – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 20.09.2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 20.09.2010 – Suggestion for customer service
Suggestions for customer service
With the initiative of setting up business centres at shopping malls, Etisalat has made it easier for its customers to pay telephone bills and obtain new services.
One such centre working very efficiently is the one in Abu Dhabi Mall. However, the sheer popularity of it has created a new problem. Many business customers visit this centre, which has only one or two staff members to complete their transactions. This means more waiting for individual customers, who at times have to wait for more than 30 minutes till the customer in front completes a set of 15 or more bills.
The staff and system access at these counters are not meant for complex transactions and queries which create more delays.
I suggest that the Etisalat authorities provide more staff at business centres like Abu Dhabi Mall and also operate a separate counter for corporate customers so that individual customers need not wait for long.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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Should car seats for children be mandatory? – My Comments – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 12.09.2010
My Comments – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 12.09.2010 – Should car seats for children be mandatory?
The Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi has now given away 1,500 car seats and educated parents on road safety. But should the seats be compulsory for parents anyway?
My comments as follows:
I think the law should be made strict to ensure all the rear passengers wear the seat belt in cars and all the passengers wear the seat belts in 15 seater vans. The habit of wearing the seat belt is very rarely practised here. In fact car seats or atleast seat belts should be the preferred mandatory options by default by all for own safety reason.
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Reflections on UAE Statistics – My Letters – THE NATIONAL Dt. 15.09.2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL Dt. 15.09.2010 – Reflections on UAE Statistics
Reflections on UAE statistics
I refer to the statistics provided in the Business article Snapshots of the Emirates … the numbers tell the story (September 13). Looking closely, the details give interesting insights. An average of 106 million barrels of crude oil is consumed per day for internal use in the UAE. A subsequent online review showed that the UAE ranks number two in terms of per capita oil consumption. This shows a heavy reliance on oil consumption and measures by authorities should be made to educate residents to resort to mass transport options, whenever possible.
Another interesting figure observed is the number of BlackBerry users within the country, which stands at number one in per capita use of mobile phones. Imagine the scenario if the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority puts a brake on BlackBerry usage here.
A US$10 billion reserve set aside by UAE banks against a rise in bad loans is an eye opener and shows that it is time for massive reforms by the Central Bank to stop excessive interest charges for bank customers which are directly increasing the alarming rise in the bad loans ratio here.
A total of 182 GCC newspapers and magazines closed since the start of last year. This is a sad note for the print media industry, which is shrinking each day, either due to cost factors or interest generated by online media. A realistic attempt should be made at school levels to initiate daily reading of news from printed sources.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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Bus services for a city on the move – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 13.09.2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 13.09.2010 – Bus services for a city on the move
Bus services for a city on the move
It has been 27 months since Abu Dhabi Department of Transport started its brand-new, world-class, handicap-accessible buses.
Within this short time, it has grown into a service consisting of 12 main city bus routes and seven suburb bus routes extending its reach up to connecting town centres like Bani Yas, Shahama, Mussaffa and Khalifa City.
Public acceptance of this economic mode of transport can be clearly seen in the rush during peak travel hours. This is particularly the case on city routes that are fully packed to the limit with passengers.
This acceptance of public transport is very encouraging in terms of reducing the city traffic but at the same times calls for an upgrade on the frequency of buses operating within the city, especially on routes operating within the main city streets.
I request that the Abu Dhabi Department of Transportation initiates more bus services during peak hours to ease the travel difficulties of passengers in Abu Dhabi.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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Independence Day wishes – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 15.08.2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt. 15.08.2010 – Independence Day wishes
India is getting ready to celebrate its Independence Day today. Since 1947, the nation has moved towards true independence through economic progress and continuous agricultural and industrial development. Strict controls by the Reserve Bank of India have made sure that India did not suffer much due to the global recession.
Let the coming days bring about more prosperity and free Indians from the perils of politically ambitious moves by a few. I wish all Indians a truly independent year ahead.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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Adopt a zoo animal scheme – My Letters – THE NATIONAL Dt. 06.08.2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL Dt. 06.08.2010 – Adopt a zoo animal scheme
My Letters – THE NATIONAL Dt. 06.08.2010 – Adopt a zoo animal scheme
The UAE has some world-class zoo facilities available for residents to enjoy wildlife not normally seen in this region. It requires great effort and finance to maintain them. It would be a good idea to introduce an “Adopt an animal” scheme at the UAE zoos, especially in Dubai and Al Ain. Specified amounts can be set and individuals and organisations can then adopt an animal for a day, a week or a year according to their means.
This will provide financial assistance for their upkeep to help better maintain the facilities and the animals. It would also generate greater involvement among the public to visit them often. For schools and children in particular, it would open up an enriched way to know more about wildlife and nature.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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Pedestrians’ lives hang in balance – My Letters : THE NATIONAL Dt. 19.07.2010
Pedestrians’ lives hang in balance
In reference to Abu Dhabi’s pedestrian-friendly scheme (July 15), I have been witnessing ongoing illegal crossings by pedestrians, in particular on Electra Street in Abu Dhabi in front of the New Medical Centre hospital. Scores of pedestrians cross the road, ignoring designated crossing areas.
Even when police are in the area, you can see people crossing 100 metres away. This raises the point that current traffic control will not work in the long term.
Municipality authorities should close the open avenues in the central reservations, restricting access in places other than zebra crossings and pedestrian tunnels. In addition, road signs in multiple languages should create more awareness about dangerous crossings.
Campaigns, with the assistance of radio and television media, should also be conducted to educate people who do not read newspapers. In fact, the electronic media should lead the drive for safety awareness.
The current exercise by authorities is not preventing dangerous pedestrian crossings.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
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