Having recovered from the first national race weekend, I got to do something completely different last week. And I rather enjoyed it.I was invited by top sponsorship, marketing and events agency KHP Consulting to help out with their "Yasalam Responsibly" road safety campaign.
They assembled a team of experts and local motorsport heroes to visit high schools and universities across Abu Dhabi to talk about the importance of being responsible road users.
The idea was to help raise their awareness of common driving hazards and, crucially, to persuade them to watch out for their friends and family when they are on the roads. I know how cross I get if a taxi driver answers his phone while driving or if his seat belts don't work properly.
The students were also asked to create their own road safety campaign that they have been invited to present on November 4 at the F1 FanZone on the Abu Dhabi Corniche.
I had the pleasure of presenting to some very bright and attentive students at the Abu Dhabi International School and to undergraduates at New York University (NYU). We also had 18-year-old Formula Gulf 1000 racing driver Mohamed Al Mutawaa talk about the important role of safety equipment, focus and concentration relative to safety when driving.
The statistics absolutely floored everyone present.
Worldwide, there are 3,200 deaths from traffic accidents every day. That's one every 27 seconds. The combination of not wearing seat belts, excessive speed and lack of care is a lethal cocktail. I simply cannot understand why anyone would not wear a seat belt or not restrain their child in their seat. A 45kph collision without a seat belt is the equivalent of falling off a six-storey building.
The Abu Dhabi emirate has one of the world's highest rates of road deaths, only slightly behind the African continent, with an average of 38 deaths per month due to traffic accidents. We cannot easily see people not wearing seat belts, but what is very noticeable is that most children are not restrained - this is clearly irresponsible behaviour and should be heavily monitored and penalised.
Given we were talking with young people, the subject moved onto the negative impact of technology. Text messaging while driving has become the new killer. Race drivers know that concentration is key to good driving. Tellingly, Abu Dhabi Police revealed that, in the three days BlackBerry messaging service was down, the city saw a 40 per cent drop in accidents.
While speed limits on major roads are designed to stop you from killing yourself, speed limits in residential areas are there to stop you from killing someone else. Hitting a pedestrian at 65kph kills them 80 per cent of the time, while a 50kph collision reduces fatalities to 20 per cent. A 1kph decrease in speed produces a five per cent reduction in fatalities.
However, the campaign was more focused on hope than fear. Henry Bradley, an NYU student, saw past numbers. "Given the shocking statistics of traffic fatalities in Abu Dhabi, it's comforting to know there's a force acting to try and correct that," he said.
Barry Hope is a director of GulfSport Racing, which is hoping to find an Arab F1 driver through the FG1000 race series. Join the UAE racing community online at www.gulf-sport.com or on Facebook at GulfSportRacing.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Results
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m; Winner: MM Al Balqaa, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Qaiss Aboud (trainer)
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: AF Rasam, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mujeeb, Richard Mullen, Salem Al Ketbi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Pat Dobbs, Ibrahim Aseel
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Nibraas, Richard Mullen, Nicholas Bachalard
HAJJAN
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 3 (Abraham 11', 17', 74')
Luton Town 1 (Clark 30')
Man of the match Abraham (Chelsea)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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