Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Ah, the lights dunnit.

I can't believe it, but the report in 7Days this morning says that no-one was killed, thankfully, in the Dubai Marina crash I commented on yesterday.

But the thrust of the front page story is that the cause of the crash, and the two before it, was the traffic lights not working. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

Of course the lights should have been fixed more quickly, and in fact they're working this morning - although the street lights and the next set of traffic lights are still not working and they've been out of action for longer.

But if the lights are blamed for causing the crashes the real cause of the problem is ignored. Problems can only be solved if their cause is recognised, accurately and honestly.

Look at the facts. There is a secondary road joining a main road. It's simply a road junction. Traffic on the secondary road has to give way to traffic on the main road, which has right of way. Only when the main road is clear should the traffic venture onto it. It isn't rocket science, it's common sense and a basic road rule.

The lights didn't cause the crashes, drivers not obeying basic, simple road rules and not using common sense caused them.

And look again at my photos - no way in the world was sensible speed being driven. The car is cut in half with the engine and front of the vehicle a heap of unrecognisable metal. The cement mixer truck has overturned and has the solid front axle twisted. And this in a 60kph zone.

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