While there are many plus points to life in the UAE, few would say the standard of driving is one of them.
With speeding relatively routine and lane discipline often poor, it is perhaps no surprise that as many as 1,056 people were killed on the country's roads in 2007.
Looked at on its own, this statistic is bad enough, but when compared to the figures for some other countries, it becomes decidedly alarming.
In the United Kingdom, for example, there are more than ten times as many people as there are in the UAE, yet in 2007 there were 2,943 road fatalities, which is only 2.8 times as many.
This means that for motorists in the Emirates, vehicle safety should be a key concern.
Crash test results are an obvious place to start, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a US organisation funded by vehicle insurers, and the European New Car Assessment Programme both publish results online.
Crash tests usually look at the effect of frontal and side impacts, assessing the strains put on the various body parts of crash test dummies.
Engineers look at the degree of intrusion into the passenger compartment and determine the likelihood of injuries.
The complicating factor is that most frontal impact tests involve a vehicle hitting a deformable barrier, which replicates the effect of an impact with a similarly sized vehicle.
While this gives useful information, it is by no means the whole picture - the way a car stands up depends on the characteristics of the vehicle or other structure it collides with.
"Crash test results only generally tell you how the vehicle would do in a crash with a similar vehicle of the same weight," says Russ Rader, a IIHS spokesman.
"Usually they don't tell you how that vehicle would perform if it crashes into something bigger and heavier. The laws of physics always apply. The laws hold that people in smaller, lighter vehicles are always at a disadvantage in crashes."
Larger vehicles, as well as tending to be heavier, also have more "crush space" than smaller cars. This crush space tends to dissipate the crash energy and keep it away from the occupants of the vehicle.
The effect of size and weight is seen in stark terms in the IIHS's car-to-car tests.
One of those done recently was of two cars popular in the UAE, the Toyota Yaris, a small car, and a Toyota Camry, a medium-sized saloon.
In a 40mph crash test with a deformable barrier, the driver's space in the Yaris was well protected and the car earned a "good" rating, the best of the IIHS's four categories, ahead of acceptable, marginal and poor.
However, when a 2009 Yaris was in a 40mph collision with a 2009 Camry, the IIHS found there was "a lot of intrusion into the occupant compartment" of the smaller car. The car was given a poor rating, while the larger Camry was judged to be acceptable.
A similar pattern was seen when the IIHS looked at the 2009 Honda Fit, which is sold here as the Honda Jazz, and the 2009 Honda Accord.
While the Fit earned a good rating in the 40mph crash test against the barrier, when it was tested against the Accord it got a poor rating, while the Accord was judged to be good.
As a result of this pattern, the Euro NCAP, which rates vehicles on a five-star scale, says vehicles should be within about 150kg for comparisons to be made.
Four-wheel-drive vehicles are popular in the UAE, with many people believing they are safer than saloon cars. As well as having a size and weight advantage, SUVs have the benefit of what Mr Rader describes as the "compatibility factor", which means their crash-absorbing structures tend to be higher.
"The automakers are working on this problem," says Mr Rader.
The benefits of SUVs in crashes are such that the IIHS does not usually conduct tests on them, saying: "They start with a higher level of protection for occupants in the most common kinds of front, size and rear impact crashes."
However, the higher centre of gravity of four-wheel-drives is a downside.
"The benefits they provide in crashes with other vehicles can be offset by the higher likelihood of being involved in a rollover crash," says Mr Rader.
This is significant because, in a 2008 interview with The National, Dr Adnan Abbas, director of the fatalities section at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi said that "it's mostly rollovers" that cause deaths in the UAE.
Some SUVs, as well as many saloons, have electronic stability control to reduce the chance of rollover, and the IIHS and Euro NCAP recommend people to select such vehicles.
However, these systems don't have an effect in the event of a collision, as the laws of physics supersede even the electronic programmes' capabilities.
Given that one vehicle type wmight be safer in one sort of crash, but riskier in another, it can be difficult for car buyers to decide what to choose. But one thing Mr Rader is clear on that bigger tends to means safer.
"People have all kinds of criteria for selecting vehicles, but if safety is your top priority, you should stay out of the smallest vehicles," Mr Rader said.
"It should be a vehicle that has a good crash-test rating and is at least as heavy as a typical midsized sedan," he said.
Such Camry, Accord or Mitsubishi Galant-sized vehicles, if they have a good crash-test rating, provide the benefits of crash worthiness with enough weight, while not being as thirsty as some SUVs, Mr Rader says. A reasonable weight to aim for, he believes, is about 3,200 lbs, or 1,451 kg.
"The benefits of size and weight start to even out and diminish as you get up into the biggest vehicles," he says.
But drivers should not automatically equate weight with safety, says Cordelia Wilson from Euro NCAP.
This was graphically demonstrated by the British television programme Fifth Gear, which carried out an offset head-on impact test between a Volvo 940 estate, which was discontinued in 1998, and the Renault Modus, which was launched in 2004.
The Modus, which is not common on UAE roads, is slightly shorter and taller than a Nissan Tiida and received the full five stars for adult occupant protection from Euro NCAP.
The Renault came off much better than the older but much larger Volvo, with the steering wheel and footwell in the latter having moved back significantly.
"A lot of old cars haven't had the same safety developments put into them," Ms Wilson says.
"They won't be as safe as a small car that's been built with safety in mind," she says.
Also, commercial vehicles are sometimes not built with the same safety features as saloon cars, so even if they are larger, they may not be safer.
"These vehicles are subject to lower safety regulations in Europe," Ms Wilson says. "There has been a focus [in legislation] on consumer and passenger vehicles."
In particular, Ms Wilson says some pickup vehicles of the kind popular in the UAE have done worse in crash tests than cars the same size or even smaller. For example, the 2008 Nissan Navara pickup was given three stars for adult occupant protection, while the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, its passenger-carrying cousin, earned four stars.
Given the choice, Ms Wilson says she would prefer to be in a smaller supermini with a good crash-test result than in some larger commercial vehicles with disappointing test results.
"We've tested some superminis that have very, very good whiplash test results," she said.
@Email:dbardsley@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vault%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBilal%20Abou-Diab%20and%20Sami%20Abdul%20Hadi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EInvestment%20and%20wealth%20advisory%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOutliers%20VC%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E14%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0
De Bruyne (70')
Man of the Match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
