yay or nay?
What do you guys think of the following?
Good thing? Bad thing? Don't care? The question also goes to all of you outside the UAE. (FYI: This is printed every week in a daily paper, Gulf News)
I'm torn actually. The first time I saw it last week, I was a little appalled by the "Worst Crash of the Week" title. It just didn't seem appropriate.
But on the other hand, maybe the images are horrific enough to hit a nerve with some people who drive like maniacs?
I'm still not sure if I agree with this whole thing, but it has definitely not left me indifferent.
posted by sky @ 6:34 PM
6 Comments:
I say Yay.
Maybe this will make drivers more careful. Nothing else seems to have worked so far.
This morning as I was driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, I saw such a horrific crash next to Jebel Ali, a mini-van was just completely smashed. I did not see how many other cars were involved in the accident, but from what I saw, I am sure someone got seriously hurt, if not killed.
Just seeing that made my heart sink. I kept thinking about it all day. And it definitely made me slow down. What's the point of speeding?
And I got so upset when I saw other morons (as Moryarti so appropriately calls them) zigzagging along the lanes of Sheikh Zayed at breakneck speeds.
This whole reckless driving attitude will not go away unless the cops are actually doing something about it. There need to be more cops actually enforcing the laws, which is not done enough. What's the point of tough laws if no one actually gets punished?
It's just not normal for me to fear driving, or dread going on Sheikh Zayed road, because of idiots who do not care enough about endagering others' lives, let alone their own lives.
Agree with DXB Sunshine, driving is becoming a liability... and i am with these photos - a form of shock therapy
I think the photos are a good idea & hopefully act as a deterrent, even if it's just a slight one. I saw part of a TV programme recently about traffic 'violators' who were taken to the local morgue to check out all the stiffs & hopefully catch a wake-up. Most were visibly shaken at the experience. Perhaps the Police should introduce something like that in the UAE. Reckless drivers need a wake-up, a drastic wake-up, because they just keep getting away with breaking the law.
But then again - the shock factor only lasts so long. Just like smokers and the lung pictures on the cigarette packs, just like war on TV. After a while, we just get desensitised and care even less when we see these pictures.
I'm sure that there are better ways to slow crazy drivers down: an active highway patrol that actually enforces the law. Hefty fines for ofenders, criminal dossiers for those who kill while speeding. Something big enough that will actually make someone think twice about doing it. Then, there are a bunch of "mechanical" ways to limit speed like speed limiters on cars - actually limits the maximum speed a car can travel(Canada has those) and so on.
As I said - the picture effect only last so long.
Thats why any public awareness/service initiative has to be an on going, all year round, not just a one off.
You guys all have a point. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.
But at least it has hit a nerve and has probably hit the nerves of thousands of readers out there.
I just hope it reaches those concerned (ie. the nutbag drivers), and not just people like me, who incidentally, don't drive.
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