DUBAI // Motorists have mixed reactions to Dubai Police’s proposal to cut the speed limit by 10kph.
Nearly two-thirds of the 1.2 million traffic breaches during the first seven months of this year were linked to speeding, the latest police figures show.
This has prompted the chief of traffic police to call for a reduction in the speed limit.
The maximum allowed on motorways is 120kph. Under the plans, the buffer for speed cameras would be reduced from 20kph to 10kph.
“Lowering the buffer over speed limits will lead to fewer accidents,” said Maj Gen Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, director of the general directorate of traffic at Dubai Police.
He said the number of bus and taxi crashes had fallen after the speed buffer for those vehicles was cut.
“Ninety per cent of traffic accidents occur because of excess speed,” he said.
But some motorists believe reducing the limit is a mere money-making scheme.
“This is a smart way for Dubai Police to make money,” said Umm Hashem, a 39-year-old businessman. “They will make a lot of money until people get used to the new limit.
“This is a bad idea. It will just result in more speeding fines, so they are just trying to make money again.
“If they want to reduce accidents they need to be stricter on who they give driving licences to. We need better drivers on the road, all reducing the speed buffer will do is annoy people.”
Others drivers support the idea, but believe more must be done to make the roads safer.
“There are just too many reckless drivers on the road these days, it is about time they reduced the speed limit,” said Noor Sayed Ali, a 30-year-old banker. “Lower speeds will reduce accidents and make them less deadly. Besides, 10kph slower will not affect your journey by much.”
“I think it is a good start,” said Samantha Harrison, a Canadian mother of two. “I don’t think it will make a big difference but it is a step in the right direction.
“Driving here can be quite scary. There are too many aggressive drivers on the road here.”
Motorists in Dubai committed 695,521 speeding offences in the first part of this year to July.
Most speeders are between the ages of 18 and 36, according to the police.
Maj Gen Al Zafeen said a similar initiative in Abu Dhabi, where the buffer on motorways was reduced to 20kph, resulted infewer speeding drivers.
malkhan@thenational.ae
ON TRACK
The Dubai Metaverse Assembly will host three main tracks:
Educate: Consists of more than 10 in-depth sessions on the metaverse
Inspire: Will showcase use cases of the metaverse in tourism, logistics, retail, education and health care
Contribute: Workshops for metaverse foresight and use-case reviews
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Bridgerton season three - part one
Directors: Various
Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 3/5
SHAITTAN
Director: Vikas Bahl
Starring: Ajay Devgn, R. Madhavan, Jyothika, Janaki Bodiwala
Rating: 3/5
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Stage 3 results
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 4:42:33
2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:03
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:30
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:56
General Classification after Stage 3:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 12:30:02
2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:35
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40
5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Wilco Kelderman (NED) Team Sunweb) 0:02:06
SPEC SHEET: APPLE M3 MACBOOK AIR (13")
Processor: Apple M3, 8-core CPU, up to 10-core CPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Display: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 2560 x 1664, 224ppi, 500 nits, True Tone, wide colour
Memory: 8/16/24GB
Storage: 256/512GB / 1/2TB
I/O: Thunderbolt 3/USB-4 (2), 3.5mm audio, Touch ID
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Battery: 52.6Wh lithium-polymer, up to 18 hours, MagSafe charging
Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD
Video: Support for Apple ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: 4-speaker system, wide stereo, support for Dolby Atmos, Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking (with AirPods)
Colours: Midnight, silver, space grey, starlight
In the box: MacBook Air, 30W/35W dual-port/70w power adapter, USB-C-to-MagSafe cable, 2 Apple stickers
Price: From Dh4,599
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
Company profile
Name: Khodar
Based: Cairo and Alexandria, in Egypt
Founders: Ayman Hamza, Yasser Eidrous and Amr El Sheikh
Sector: agriculture technology
Funding: $500,000
Investors: Saudi Arabia’s Revival Lab and others
Employees: 35
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Signs of heat stroke
- The loss of sodium chloride in our sweat can lead to confusion and an altered mental status and slurred speech
- Body temperature above 39°C
- Hot, dry and red or damp skin can indicate heatstroke
- A faster pulse than usual
- Dizziness, nausea and headaches are also signs of overheating
- In extreme cases, victims can lose consciousness and require immediate medical attention
MORE ON IRAN'S PROXY WARS
