ABU DHABI // If you imagine that it's getting more dangerous to be a pedestrian in Abu Dhabi, you're not wrong.
Statistics quoted yesterday at the Road Safety Middle East Summit showed that in 2009, 30 per cent of road accidents in Abu Dhabi involved pedestrians - up from 25 per cent in 2007.
And a quarter of such accidents lead to serious injuries or deaths, summit participants were told as the two-day meeting concluded.
In all, more than seven Abu Dhabi residents per 100,000 of population die as pedestrian traffic victims each year.
Mohamed Aly, a safety planning specialist in the land and transport sector at the Department of Transport (DoT), said a pedestrian safety action plan is being drawn up, in an effort to cut the number of pedestrian fatalities by 30 per cent by 2015.
One primary issue, Mr Aly said, is the amount of time pedestrians have to wait at pelican crossings before the signal indicates they can cross the street.
Other issues cited include the islands between road lanes being too narrow - sometimes less than a metre across - offering little space for pedestrians to wait.
The second goal of the action plan will be to make the emirate more walkable. A recent DoT study found that 60 per cent of pedestrians do not use designated crossings because they are inconveniently out of the way. Some 30 per cent said the crossings take too long to use.
To resolve that, the DoT is analysing accident sites to identify "black spots." The findings will be used to place new pedestrian crossings, including signalled crossings and underpasses, depending on the type of road.
Ibrahim al Hamoudi, senior transport planner at the Urban Planning Council, said a new urban environment manual would help make the city better for pedestrians, a main goal of the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision.
"Every 60 metres in the city has 400 families," he said. "Good street design is vital to the safety and quality of life for all residential areas."
Many speakers returned to the point that most traffic accidents - three quarters of them, says the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi - result from human error rather than external, uncontrollable factors. That, it was suggested, makes it essential to educate people through publicity and driver training.
A particular problem, according to a study by the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy, is young Emiratis' attitudes, values and responses to peer pressure.
The study tried to identify the reckless driving practices adopted by young Emirati men. It found them less likely than Emirati women or Arab expatriates to stick to speed limits.
Across all groups, nearly 60 per cent of drivers took to the wheel before the legal age of 18. Almost two thirds had been involved in a car accident, and more than a quarter had been injured in an accident.
Up to a quarter of Emirati men between 18 and 33 years of age admitted dangerous driving practices including speeding, overtaking in the wrong lane and tailgating. About 16 per cent of the surveyed Emiratis said they were more likely to overtake the car in front of them if the driver were expatriate or from another emirate, a behaviour experts call "territoriality."
Tailgating was perceived as a respected behaviour among many young Emirati men. Sticking to the speed limit, keeping a safe distance, wearing seatbelts, and stopping to make mobile telephone calls were considered unmanly or cowardly - or indicative of an "unskilled driver."
Maj Awad Baloushi of the Abu Dhabi Traffic Police unveiled plans for a series of school campaigns.
The police are also planning a Dh100m Traffic Awareness City project.The 50,000 square-metre "city" will let children 5 to 17 drive miniature cars around roundabouts, across traffic signals, over flyovers and through underpasses.
mismail@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Awad Mustafa
This version corrects a previous article in which we stated that 8.2 people per 100,000 died in pedestrian accidents in Dubai. In fact 8.2 people per 100,000 were total traffic deaths.
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
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
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
More on Quran memorisation:
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The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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