ABU DHABI // Police and road safety experts have urged motorists to drive with caution as strong winds downed trees and heavy rain led to flooding in some areas of the capital.
The Ministry of Interior took to Twitter to warn motorists of heavy rains reducing visibility and strong winds causing debris to land and obstruct roads.
“The biggest mistakes drivers make is not adjusting to the poor conditions,” said Dino Kalivas, chairman of the driver education and training committee at the International Road Federation.
“If roads are wet, visibility is poor, then drivers should adjust their speed, drive a little slower which gives greater time to react to hazards on the roads.”
Motorists need to drive with their headlights on, as this increases visibility to other drivers and pedestrians.
“They need to allow an increase in stopping distance, by maintaining a longer following distance between themselves and the car in front,” Mr Kalivas said. “If possible, avoid driving when rain is heaviest and visibility is extremely poor.”
Robert Hodges, the chief operating officer at Emirates Driving Institute in Dubai, agreed, saying: “Delay your trip is the weather is really bad, especially if it’s dark.”
He added: “Keep below normal speed limits and increase the space between you and the vehicle in front. In wet weather, this should be at least 4 to 6 seconds. This not only provides you with more reaction and braking time, but keeps you clear of the road spray from the vehicles in front.”
At 9.49am, traffic stopped on Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road on both directions, at the Al Samha region due to heavy rain.
Two hours later, traffic towards Dubai had been diverted away from Al Taweela Bridge due to rising water levels.
The ministry also warned motorists of heavy rain in Al Sameeh and Ghantoot.
Emirati Mohammed Al Qemzi, 52, had to postpone his trip to Jebel Ali when he saw the massive traffic jam on the E11 motorway heading to Dubai.
“Traffic was at a standstill from Al Rahba to Ghantoot,” he said. “I was already at Al Rahba at about 11.30am but decided to return to the city, after seeing the chaos on the roads.”
Motorists are also advised to drive with caution and anticipate that there may be fallen objects on the roads and hence other drivers making unpredictable maneuvers, Mr Kalivas said.
At 11.30am, a lamppost fell on two taxis parked off the junction of Hazza bin Zayed Street and Mubarak bin Mohammed Street, near the Shaheen Supermarket and Khalidiya Police Station.
It was brought down in the high winds, hitting an Arabia Taxi’s roof top before smashing the rear windshield of the National Taxi.
“I called my company and I was asked to contact the police to report the incident,” said Govinda Chettri, a National Taxi driver from Nepal, who was at the Abu Faisal Restaurant when it happened.
Man Bahadur, 37, who drives for Arabia Taxi, said he was inside his friend’s taxi when he saw the lamppost fall on his taxi.
“I’m very scared,” he said. “Maybe my company will charge us for the damage.”
Drivers need to concentrate, looking for hazards observing the road conditions well ahea and always wear their seat belts, Mr Kalivas said.
rruiz@thenational.ae
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
