# Sulayem: Boy racers have driven me off the roads



## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

*Boy racers have driven me off the roads, says rally champion*

Racing car driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem says that boy racers causing chaos on Dubai’s roads are one of the main reasons accidents are at such a high level.

The 14 times Middle East Rally champion told Emirates Today the reasons why he now chooses not to drive on the roads as he backed a new antispeeding campaign by Dubai Traffic Police to be launched on Saturday.

Ben Sulayem said he was involved in a serious accident in 1998 that nearly killed him and was caused by a speeding driver not looking where he was going.

The rally driver, who is no stranger to speed himself, added that the accident and the fact that Dubai’s roads had become so fast and volatile in the past two years had contributed to his decision not to drive here.

He said: “Too many people believe they can control their vehicles at high speeds but they cannot. The facts prove it and this campaign will highlight the dangers involved.

“If you drive over 140 kilometres per hour (kph) you cannot control the car and it becomes a lethal weapon.” Ben Sulayem, president of the UAE Automobile and Touring Club, said the campaign on speeding was long overdue and people needed to take on board the deadly facts.

“I have driven at 381kph but that was with a helmet, on a closed track with engineers on the sidelines. I knew the temperature, the tyre pressure, everything.

“It is all of our responsibilities to act sensibly when driving – the police can do so much and then it is up to us. I would rather be late and alive than dead,” he added.

The campaign is Dubai Traffic Police’s first that will be dedicated to reducing speed and was a reaction to the 236 deaths on Dubai’s roads in 2005.

Brigadier Essa Aman Obaid, head of Dubai Traffic Police, said that speeding was not tolerated and the speed limits were not set for fun but to protect lives.

He said: “Too many people died on the roads last year, many due to speeding.

“Too many of these were between the ages of 23 and 27. We need to address this situation and get parents to teach their children how to drive in the proper manner.” Brigadier Obaid said the essential element of the new campaign was to reduce deaths and said police were ready to ban drivers caught speeding.

Speeding was the predominant cause of 80 per cent of accidents in Dubai in 2005 according to the Roads and Transport Authority’s annual report released last month.

And motorists between the age of 21 and 40 were responsible for more than 67 per cent of traffic accidents in the same year.

Police have so far reported 144 deaths in road accidents for 2006, which is an alarming rise on 2005 when they reported 107 deaths during the first five


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## metroreporter (Apr 10, 2005)

sounds good-- only if its effective


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## DarkBlueBoss (Mar 3, 2005)

all talk... deaths, have only been on the rise annualy, 
they need to do something serious about this, 
they need to double the no. of police cars, have them patrol the roads, and immediately stop the speeding vehicle and ticket it, or even take the driver to custody... and no special favors ( everyone equal)


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## Trances (May 19, 2003)

DarkBlueBoss said:


> all talk... deaths, have only been on the rise annualy,
> they need to do something serious about this,
> they need to double the no. of police cars, have them patrol the roads, and immediately stop the speeding vehicle and ticket it, or even take the driver to custody... and no special favors ( everyone equal)


if only


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## koukla (May 25, 2006)

It's amazing though how most of these speeding boys are from GCC countries and the rules are such that they nearly get their driving licenses on a silver platter.

What's the point of these new restrictions? They can't even control anything. I have witnessed the following situation not so long ago. There was a policeman on the side of the road monitoring the speeding cars. As he was located on a slight road bend he wasn't all that obvious to drivers. From afar he saw a car in the left lane speeding well above the limit. The cop ran from his car to the left lane across the road thus stopping and blocking traffic. The moment the aforementioned speeding driver saw the copper he actually sped more so as to avoid being stopped. Not only did the speeder have one of the fancy plate numbers they have all over UAE, the officer was so dumbstruck he didn't even note the car details down.

So just what regulations are we talking about here...


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## luv2bebrown (Nov 4, 2004)

i have friends who have all been in multiple accidents. they race and speed recklessly, one even got his car impounded by the no.2 guy in dubai police, only to have it released a week later. in spite of all the accidents, these guys are still driving, rich influential parents give them access to fast cars, pay their insurance etc...

if there are no consequences for reckless driving, what reason these people have to drive safely? i have spoken to them about it, and all they say is "everybody in dubai gets into accidents." they all believe they are the best drivers in the world.

whatever happened to the black points system? they should bring that back in place so that reckless drivers have their licenses suspended for 3 years. and anybody caught driving with a suspended license should be jailed for 6 months.

these reckless drivers need to shown there are consequences for their actions.


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## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

UAE can never progress unless we get rid of "waasta"


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## metroreporter (Apr 10, 2005)

what a shame.


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## smussuw (Feb 1, 2004)

We need to get rid of slow drivers too


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## metroreporter (Apr 10, 2005)

well, it depends

better slow then fast (safety-wise)


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## DarkBlueBoss (Mar 3, 2005)

smussuw said:


> We need to get rid of slow drivers too



we need to get rid of drivers who say such things LOL :lol: kidding mate :cheers:


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## ragga (Jan 23, 2005)

ok so i have finally started driving here for the past 2 weeks...I do know one thing, it has improved a hell of a lot since my last trip. More radars, more tickets. etc... and I am not going to lie, I do drive fast as I am young and i love cars... but theres fast drivers and then theres just ridiculous driving... 

... i guess im just making excuses for myself ... its just not safe...


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

I'm starting to see more and more vehicles with these kind of plates:











What are this? Some kind of Royal number plates or something?


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## dubaiflo (Jan 3, 2005)

what do the two flags stand for ? does anybody know?

Lexus Lx470. not bad.


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## Emirati_Girl (Apr 26, 2006)

The two flags stand for RAK.. the british made it to us when we had a war with them ^_^ .. if i am not wrong ...


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## ragga (Jan 23, 2005)

LX470 drinks gas.... sorry had to say that...


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## metroreporter (Apr 10, 2005)

drinks? ur being way too nice

gas guzzler would be more accurate


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## Art-8888 (Jul 8, 2006)

AltinD said:


> I'm starting to see more and more vehicles with these kind of plates:
> 
> 
> What are this? Some kind of Royal number plates or something?


Number plate says RAK Government.

Dubai and Sharjah need more pedestrian bridges to reduce the accidents and death of people.


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## Trances (May 19, 2003)

pedestrian bridges of course I was always crying for more of those


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## Qatar4Ever (Feb 3, 2004)

Tougher rules which apply to all with no exception is the only solution.


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