The other day I saw a bus barrelling down Sheikh Zayed road at what must have been around 160kmph. I even increased my speed to 140kmph to try and level with it, but it was too fast and the road was far too full of traffic to drive safely at 140 (which is illegal anyway) let alone go even faster to try to catch up with it.
Not only was the bus speeding, it was weaving in and out of lanes, including the "fast" ie left-most lane where heavy vehicles are usually banned. This wasn't even a minibus - it was a full size bus or coach, taller than a labourer bus.
The number plate was Arabic and it went too quickly for me to be able to read it, but it may have been a Saudi plate. I think the writing was red. The company name on the bus was Al Salem.
What should one do in a case like this? Contact Al Salem? Contact Dubai Police?
31 July, 2007
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13 comments:
Christ 160khm for an Dino-sized bus? What kind of lunatics are let on the city roads these days?
I would call Dubai traffic cops and give a detailed description as possible - the make & colour, time, location, speed (ofcourse) colour, your comments on the licence place.
There is a special hotline run by Dubia Police to which you can report exactly this sort of lunacy -
800 4353
it's not always manned, but when you do get through they're usually very helpful. Do try and get the licence plate number (and letter) - that way they can speak to the owner, not just the driver.
EoD
I'd say report as many details as you can to both the police here and the company. The company should know who was driving the bus in that area at that time. If they give a damn maybe they'll do something about the driver before he kills people.
By the way, the story about new taxis in Dubai being fitted with speed limiters - there was no mention of buses & cement trucks being speed-limited and in my experience they're much more dangerous than taxis.
140 km is legal! lol. Try it when the street is empty. The radar won't catch you. Just a reminder, I've noticed most drivers coming from Dubai heading to Abu Dhabi never drive above 140 km on the fast lane although the maximum speed in Abu dhabi highway is 160km starting from Saih Shuaib. I personally drive at the maximum speed allowed as long as the street is not that crowded.I think I have the right to.
I have no answer to the question at the end of your post.
All I could think of, when I read your post, was "been there, done that".
Don't go chasing those truck drivers, under any circumstance. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
You know as well as I do that they constitute a danger.
Yes, I thought twice about posting my comment (for reasons you & I know). I just couldn't refrain from doing so, for I care about someone endangering their life at the expense of some heavy-load concrete mixer mixing his lane with a car in the middle lane & beyond.
I suppose the best thing would be to report the matter and hope for the best, while keeping your own life out of danger by not chasing those who the police should chase, and I bet they do.
I bet they don't.
probably an international bus service, traveling from one country to another.. what time was it?
Late afternoon/early evening, it was still light.
what does the time of day matter?
anon: I bet they *do*, unless you have some interesing experience to demonstrate otherwise, by way of a comment? Care to ellaborate?
SD, stay away from trucks and keep yourself safe. Good post, though. Trucks are a danger, and all of us must stay away from them: keep a distance; never know what kind of garbage might splash our windscreen when we least expect it.
I am tired of reading imaginate's posts. Somebody please make her "leave" this commmunity.
We don't want people wasting their time reading her uber-crap.
It is dangerous to chase, it only increases the danger of an accident. Even 140 kpm is very dangerous if the traffic is bad. If your attention is trying to get the details of the culprit you tend to ingnore other users of the road. Thank God you escaped unharmed and without harming others.
imaginate:
You too must have contributed to the garbage that may splash on the windscreen!
It is dangerous to chase, it only increases the danger of an accident. Even 140 kpm is very dangerous if the traffic is bad. If your attention is trying to get the details of the culprit you tend to ingnore other users of the road. Thank God you escaped unharmed and without harming others.
Well that's because as I mentioned, it was not safe to drive at that speed so I slowed down again and I failed to get the details. I wasn't chasing it.
Though even if the road had been empty I don't think I would have been able to go as fast as that bus was gong to read its number plate.
"What should one do in a case like this?"
After all these comments to your query, will you be doing anything about "this"?
Action?
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