DUBAI // Mohammed Diyar, a bus driver at a special-needs centre, has learnt the importance of keeping a safe distance between vehicles, buckling up at all times and how to avoid crashes.
The Pakistani, with 10 years of driving experience, was on Tuesday among the first batch of 200 lorry, minivan and school bus drivers to receive a two-hour training session on defensive driving at the Roads and Transport Authority’s Al Aweer Depot.
“It is good for drivers to be updated regularly on driving techniques,” said Mr Diyar, 32, who travels about 200 kilometres every day to pick up and drop children at Al Noor Training Centre.
“We are properly trained for the job but it is good to be reminded to keep a safe distance from other vehicles.”
About 500 drivers are expected to take part in the free workshops, conducted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, a non-profit body that raises awareness of road safety worldwide.
The workshops, organised by UAE company Tristar Transport, come a month after 13 workers were killed in a horrific bus crash on Emirates Road last month.
The labourers were travelling from their accommodation in Umm Al Quwain to Jebel Ali on May 10 when their bus crashed into a stationary lorry.
Organisers said the purpose of the workshops was to minimise accidents.
“We are targeting the heavy vehicle drivers community in the UAE to improve road safety,” said Eugene Mayne, chief executive of Tristar Group.
“As an oil and gas logistics company, we are conscious of the potential consequences of an incident involving road tankers transporting flammable products.”
Mr Mayne said the programme would be rolled out across the Arabian Gulf region.
He said Tuesday’s workshop was conducted in English to help RTA trainers become accustomed to it, but the rest of the sessions will be in Hindi or Urdu.
Although trainers urged them to take breaks when tired, drivers said there were few rest stops in the UAE.
“We need more parking areas where we can pull over to check our tyres and rest for a few minutes before we resume our journey again,” said Mario Espinoza, 54, who drives trailers for Oman Transport.
“The Abu Dhabi Truck Road has one park and rest area and there is a new one on Emirates Road, but we need more.”
This month, the RTA opened its first rest area, on Emirates Road about five kilometres before the exit to Al Ain, for 30 lorries.
It plans to open 24 more across Dubai emirate, with clinics, shops and petrol stations.
Mr Espinoza said rules for heavy vehicles at roundabouts could cause accidents.
“We are being asked to stay on the extreme right lane, even if we have to turn left or make a U-turn,” he said. “Driving schools teach us to be on the left but police fine us if we are not on the right lane.
“This is extremely dangerous for everyone as cars that want to turn right are on these lanes and we have to be very careful.”
pkannan@thenational.ae
British Grand Prix free practice times in the third and final session at Silverstone on Saturday (top five):
1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:28.063 (18 laps)
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:28.095 (14)
3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1:28.137 (20)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 1:28.732 (15)
5. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Renault) 1:29.480 (14)
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Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
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Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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Fight card
1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)
9. Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
Squads
Australia: Finch (c), Agar, Behrendorff, Carey, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, McDermott, Maxwell, Short, Stanlake, Stoinis, Tye, Zampa
India: Kohli (c), Khaleel, Bumrah, Chahal, Dhawan, Shreyas, Karthik, Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar, Pandey, Krunal, Pant, Rahul, Sundar, Umesh
Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE