Al Sharhan's example

From high-speed police heroics to quick thinking doctors and nurses, the actions of our everyday heroes are too often taken for granted.

There are acts of heroism, small and large, every day. But sometimes an individual stands out for performing a remarkable feat. So it was when Capt Tariq Al Sharhan, an off-duty police officer in Ras Al Khaimah, put his own life in danger to help a man whose four-wheel-drive vehicle was barrelling out of control along the E311 motorway at 120kph.

The incident, reported yesterday, occurred this month after the vehicle's cruise control became stuck. Capt Al Sharhan saved the day by driving in front of the Land Cruiser, coming into contact with it to slow it down and eventually guiding it into a sand dune, where it came to a halt just one kilometre before the Emirates Road roundabout.

Throughout the incident, he was in mobile phone contact with the driver, and it all ended without injury to the driver or the vehicle.

A RAK police statement noted that all the officers involved in the rescue that day were heroes whose actions protected the safety of the emirate's people and property.

The same must be said of all those who act selflessly in the line of duty - police, fire officers, lifeguards, doctors, nurses, paramedics and military personnel - even though, all too often, we take them for granted.