Bad drivers can, as the expression goes, drive you crazy. But the usual frustrations and alarms of time spent on the road can sometimes swell into something verging on real madness, however temporary.
Road rage is a serious problem, sometimes even a deadly one. An Abu Dhabi case now before the courts, for example, involves a fatal beating; testimony indicated that a man who did not allow a following vehicle to overtake was finally cut off, forced out of his car and beaten. He died shortly after.
Whatever the facts of that case, there's no doubt that incidents of road rage, leading to violence, have become all too frequent around the world.
To be sure, most traffic-related anger is so fleeting that it does not translate itself into anything beyond a muttered or shouted imprecation - although that can lead to legal trouble if you are accused of certain insulting words or gestures.
But the more worrisome road rage is the kind that takes violent form. Experts say this is most commonly triggered by aggressive tailgating and by being cut off abruptly. (Squabbles over parking spaces are another cause.) The human brain is wired to expect to defend territory, and intrusion on "your" space can instantly generate a combative response.
Some western studies suggest that younger, poorer men, especially the unemployed, are most susceptible to this kind of transient but extreme anger. But they are by no means alone: the actor Jack Nicholson once took a golf club to another driver's windows after being cut off in traffic. The US National Institute of Mental Health says 7.3 per cent of drivers are susceptible to road rage.
Daily life is full of potential causes of frustration and even anger. But the restraint we all expect of each other in normal work and social situations is even more necessary when we are moving at 80kph (or more) in metal juggernauts that can so easily cause injury and death.
The best line of defence against road rage, in ourselves and in others, is to remember that getting through traffic is not a competition. Courtesy is as much a virtue on the road as in every other part of life. Human nature being what it is, however, not everyone will respect that fact all the time.
Driving etiquette in the UAE is often sorely lacking. In the case of irresponsible driving, however, we have seen that it can cost lives.
Small Things Like These
Director: Tim Mielants
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Eileen Walsh
Rating: 4/5
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Forced Deportations
While the Lebanese government has deported a number of refugees back to Syria since 2011, the latest round is the first en-mass campaign of its kind, say the Access Center for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization which monitors the conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
“In the past, the Lebanese General Security was responsible for the forced deportation operations of refugees, after forcing them to sign papers stating that they wished to return to Syria of their own free will. Now, the Lebanese army, specifically military intelligence, is responsible for the security operation,” said Mohammad Hasan, head of ACHR.
In just the first four months of 2023 the number of forced deportations is nearly double that of the entirety of 2022.
Since the beginning of 2023, ACHR has reported 407 forced deportations – 200 of which occurred in April alone.
In comparison, just 154 people were forcfully deported in 2022.
Violence
Instances of violence against Syrian refugees are not uncommon.
Just last month, security camera footage of men violently attacking and stabbing an employee at a mini-market went viral. The store’s employees had engaged in a verbal altercation with the men who had come to enforce an order to shutter shops, following the announcement of a municipal curfew for Syrian refugees.
“They thought they were Syrian,” said the mayor of the Nahr el Bared municipality, Charbel Bou Raad, of the attackers.
It later emerged the beaten employees were Lebanese. But the video was an exemplary instance of violence at a time when anti-Syrian rhetoric is particularly heated as Lebanese politicians call for the return of Syrian refugees to Syria.
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Omania, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
Winner: Brehaan, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Craving, Connor Beasley, Simon Crisford
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Prep (PA) Dh100,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Fertile De Croate, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”