11 June 2011

When major cities in the world including the neighbouring Emirate of Ajman have introduced the digital countdown traffic signals to enhance the safety of motorists and pedestrians, why does the RTA, which has one of the best traffic systems in the world, not introduce the countdown traffic signals system in Dubai?

According to a study, a high percentage of crashes, injuries and fatalities for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians occur at busy traffic signals. The hesitation that everyone of us experience, whenever we approach a traffic signal or intersection with a dilemma of whether, “I should pass or stop while the orange light is on”, becomes a major cause of accidents and collisions especially the rear and angle type of crashes.

Studies reveal that countdown signals would provide visual information and guidance to drivers regarding the amount of time remaining to safely cross an intersection. This will enhance safety at high risk intersections by reducing angle and rear end type crashes and will also enhance safety of pedestrians at crosswalks.

Countdown signals attract drivers’ attention to the orange light by visualising, rather than guessing, how many seconds are left for them to slow down and stop safely before the red light turns on. Moreover, this can also caution aggressive drivers while approaching an intersection to slow down when they see a timer instead of a solid orange light. That would reduce red light jumper drivers who always endanger others’ lives.

11 June 2011

Recently, my seven-year-old son had a bout of fever and cough for which he was prescribed antibiotics. The dosage that the doctor prescribed was twice daily for seven days. But the pharmacist at the pharmacy from where we got the medicines, wrote that it should be taken thrice daily on the box of the antibiotics. The same was explained to us verbally.
Accordingly, my son took the medicines and finished the whole bottle in four days, which otherwise should have lasted seven days . So, he actually took an overdose for four days. When we went to a different pharmacy to get more of the medicine to complete the course of antibiotic, the pharmacist there notified us that this particular medicine should be taken only twice a day. It was a mistake, a grave one, from the first pharmacist’s side for which he reasoned that it could have been the rush at the place that made him commit this blunder.

I was really appalled at how somebody could be so careless and at the absurd reason he gave me! Fortunately for us, it was not a life threatening situation.

But it could have been for somebody with a more serious ailment or with certain other kinds of drugs.
To avoid such accidents, I request all doctors to take the time out to explain to their patients about the medicines that they prescribe and their dosages.

Also, it should be made mandatory that a copy of the prescription be given to the patient by the hospital or the pharmacy for cross checking. I hope the authorities concerned will look into this matter.

11 June 2011

I was really a happy to hear the launch of a Tamil radio 24 Hour FM on June 8, but disappointed at the quality of the programmes. Maybe it is too early to comment and it is possible that they will improve.
The radio channel should first know the audience they are targetting. We live far away from home and would like to hear some great old melodies in the mornings for nostalgic reasons and not songs with illogical lyrics and music!

The lifestyle of people living here is different from people living in India. So the presenters should present programmes which will suit their taste. The presenters should talk sense unlike the presenter who said that, “You are listening to Hello FM and not to Animal Planet”. Hope she knows that Animal Planet is a TV and not a radio channel.

Do not think that listeners are fools. We are here to listen to songs and not uninteresting talk. I know that the owners would like to make more money by way of ads to cover the cost of their airtime but that does not mean they air more ads and talk and reduce the number of songs

Lastly, please speak only in good Tamil and not mix English or Punjabi like the other Hindi channels do. If you are targetting the youth it is better to speak good language so that they also learn the language.

11 June 2011

While Dubai Metro is doing a great job of opening more Metro stations, I feel that the Feeder Bus services are unable to cope with the growing commuters.

A case in point is Dubai Silicon Oasis, an area which has many commercial organisations, with more looking to open their corporate headquarters here. Unfortunately, the DSO is bursting at its seams with cars parked on the road sides. I have even obtained some amateur photos to show the parking problems on the roads due to lack of bus stops for Bus Route No 365.

Let’s begin with RAK Bank which has hundreds of employees. I counted 120 cars parked at a distance of 2km from the RAK Bank building, all the way from Dunes building.

I interacted with some RAK Bank employees who told me that RAK Bank has requested the RTA to make bus stops available to facilitate connection with the Rashidiya Metro Station. It takes 2km for a resident of Dune to find a bus stop connecting Route 365 with Rashidiya.

The property prices of DSO are also going down since there people find it hard to commute. The DSO Authority Headquarters which provides hundreds of covered parking, still has an overflow parking in the sand for another hundred cars or so.

Similarly, the roads at IT Plaza and Solarium are lined on both sides with parked cars. DSO is already a commercial hub. A better bus service will ease the commute for Dubai residents to DSO. This will also fill the Metro and empty the roads.

10 June 2011

This is with reference to the letter titled, ‘Missing personal touch’ (Open Space, June 7). I do fully agree with the writer. Even today I send greetings to my relatives by post instead of e-greetings.
Though e-greetings save money and paper, it gives a personal touch when the person receives old fashion greetings by post.
Maybe I belong to the old (lost) generation of species!