http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=123826&d=20&m=6&y=2009
Saturday 20 June 2009 (26 Jumada al-Thani 1430)
Road to death
Saad A. Al-Ghamdi | Okaz
If you want to travel on any of our roads, don't forget to write your
last will and testament. This is because death may be waiting for you. You
might find death in those companies carrying out maintenance and construction
who leave their equipment and construction debris strewn across roads. Often,
drivers are surprised to see these traps and wake up in hospitals or even die.
This negligence does not cost the construction company anything because
it does not pay compensation and does not pay any fines because such laws do
not exist. You find death at road entrances and exits with no signs and no
clear instructions regarding which oncoming autos have the right of way. You
see cars driving everywhere with each driver thinking he has a priority over
others. Also, you are sometimes surprised by a speed bump.
Other highways running between cities lack fences on both sides to block
either cars or animals from crossing in front of cars. So drivers should expect
a surprise to happen at any time, as if the road was designed to sharpen the
ability of drivers to predict what is going to happen.
You also see cars driven by drivers who are occupied with unfinished
business on mobile phones, reading newspapers or are busy chatting with other
passengers. This could lead to death. We might be one of the first countries
when it comes to road accidents compared with our per capita population.
We should trace the roots of this problem. Is it the roads or the
drivers? Or is it the absence of clear supervision from authorities?
Authorities should work hard to reduce the number of accidents and deaths.
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