200 Car Pile Up En Rotue To Abu Dabi...

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Mar 12, 2008
Chocoholic wrote:Still you seem to have avoided my question! I DON'T HAVE FOG LIGHTS!!! So what should I use instead? I know for a FACT that you can see hazard lights from a greater distance than the standard front and rear lights.

And the comment about the police being stricter about the use of hazard lights, is just silly, because until all imported cars actually have fog lights as standard, this will not happen.

And another point, who the hell uses indicators here anyway?!


Your wrong Chocs, however if it really bothers you, get Fog lights fitted.

sage & onion
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Mar 12, 2008
the cops here need to be re-educated from scratch.
ebonics
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Mar 12, 2008
ebonics wrote:the cops here need to be re-educated from scratch.


In this I am in agreement with you
sage & onion
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Mar 12, 2008
I know for a FACT that you can see hazard lights from a greater distance than the standard front and rear lights.


Please explain the science behind this FACT. The lamps in both indicators and rear lights are the same. In quite a lot of new (particularly US) cars the rear lights are the indictors.

Saying the wrong thing repeatedly doesn't make it right.

You are a fool.
john smith
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Mar 12, 2008
Another thing to be asked is how come there was no police presence on that part of the road where the "fog occured. Didn't they (bureau) forecast the weather as being foggy that day, so police dep't they should have posted units on that road to forewarned/caution the drivers of the danger ahead.

Its been easy for them to blame others yet overlooked their own responsibilities. 8)
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Mar 12, 2008
reviewer wrote:Another thing to be asked is how come there was no police presence on that part of the road where the "fog occured. Didn't they (bureau) forecast the weather as being foggy that day, so police dep't they should have posted units on that road to forewarned/caution the drivers of the danger ahead.

Its been easy for them to blame others yet their overlooked their own responsibilities. 8)


How many Police would be required to post on a road like Abu Dhabi x Dubai in dense Fog, it's not really that feasible.
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Mar 12, 2008
john smith wrote:
I know for a FACT that you can see hazard lights from a greater distance than the standard front and rear lights.


Please explain the science behind this FACT. The lamps in both indicators and rear lights are the same. In quite a lot of new (particularly US) cars the rear lights are the indictors.

Saying the wrong thing repeatedly doesn't make it right.

You are a fool.



it is a fact that you can see a blinking light better than a still one. regardless of colour, yellow or red... as long as its blinking.

you're throwing around insults, but failing to think about what you're saying.
ebonics
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Mar 12, 2008
not to mention, lincolns, which have the red light that doubles as blinkers -are the height of stupidity...

many times they started blinking and you dont notice them, especially when they're in your blind spot.... again - just because it exists doesnt make it right.
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Mar 12, 2008
ebonics wrote:not to mention, lincolns, which have the red light that doubles as blinkers -are the height of stupidity...

many times they started blinking and you dont notice them, especially when they're in your blind spot.... again - just because it exists doesnt make it right.


Not only Lincolns, all Vehicles with US Specs have these kind of indicators. In fact I believe that under Gulf Specs they are not allowed, yet another one of those little inconsistencies
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Mar 12, 2008
The problem is not hazard lights.
The problem is not speed.
The problem is not fog.

The problem is people and their driving skills... or more correctly the significant lack thereof in this country.

With skill development comes knowledge; about your car in all situations and about you in all situations.
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Mar 12, 2008
Does the police give a rule of thumb (in terms of meters of visibity) when fog lights should be used?
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Mar 12, 2008
Not only Lincolns, all Vehicles with US Specs have these kind of indicators. In fact I believe that under Gulf Specs they are not allowed, yet another one of those little inconsistencies



well that just makes all the sense in the world.



flying dutchman raises a good point, i can see this turning to fog headlight city - people having them on for no reason at all - they double up like high beams
ebonics
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Mar 12, 2008
if anyone knows how to read arabic, the "etihad" newspaper (the main national paper of abu dhabi) has a 3 page report on the incident


not once has hazard lights been mentioned in the 3 pages, or blamed.... dont know where gulf news is getting their quotes or stories from.


what happened is, the first two cars that hit leaked a whole bunch of oil, the following cars lost control over the oil (and of course speeding) - then more oil ended up on the road, even the people that were travelling at 60 km/hr lost control over the gigantic oil slick that formed...... which later ignited.
ebonics
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Mar 12, 2008
Er John Smith, it's a FACT because I use my own eyes and in fog I can see someone's hazard lights before I can see their tail lights - simple as. It's not brain surgery. It doesn't matter the fact that you have the same voltage in both sets of lights, orange is a brighter colour and therefore penetrates more, not to mention that fact that blinking lights are easier to see. Why do you think all road construction areas use uuuhhhh ohhhh 'Orange blinking lights'!

Clearly you are blind - get off the road!
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Mar 13, 2008
ebonics wrote:im still standing my ground advocating hazard lights,

you'll get collected from the back by an absolute moron of a human being.

And hopefully you'll still be able to stand your ground after someone has smashed in to you because you couldn't warn them you'd stopped.

If you are a relatively safe driver, then you are far more likely to be hit in the rear by another relatively safe, but perhaps distracted, driver because you couldn't warn them you'd done an emergency stop.

If you're doing 30 kph in the fast lane in fog, then hazard lights are not going to save you from being rear-ended by someone doing 150 kph.
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Mar 13, 2008
ebonics wrote:here is the exact law article

(e) the driver is driving in hazardous weather conditions (for example, fog or smoke); or

I am astonished. In which country is this suggestion made?
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Mar 13, 2008
ebonics wrote:if you stop / crash / breakdown - you'd turn them on

so your logic, bonk, that they contributed to the extension of the pileup is just rediculous..

You contradicted yourself. Or me. Or someone.

How can you turn on your hazard lights after you crash if you already had them on? That's exactly my point why you shouldn't have them on when driving normally.
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Mar 13, 2008
ebonics wrote:i fail to see how the hazards are blamed on this.

Yes, I know. And that's why you scare me as much as the lunatics doing 150 kph.
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Mar 13, 2008
ebonics wrote:the first two cars that crashed, should they turn their hazards on or not?

Yes. But how can they if they were already on? You keep making the same point as me but missing it entirely. You seem to be the online equivalent of someone who can't even hit the floor when falling down.
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Mar 13, 2008
Chocoholic wrote:Still you seem to have avoided my question! I DON'T HAVE FOG LIGHTS!!!

I did answer your question, a couple of pages ago. Switch on your lights. I don't have fog lights either.
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Mar 13, 2008
Anteater wrote:The problem is people and their driving skills...

Exactly.
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Mar 13, 2008
ebonics wrote:flying dutchman raises a good point, i can see this turning to fog headlight city - people having them on for no reason at all - they double up like high beams

They already do, and have done ever since I've lived here.
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Mar 13, 2008
ebonics wrote:dont know where gulf news is getting their quotes or stories from.

Gulf News said police officials.
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Mar 13, 2008
Good read.

Just a thought, are the driving schools teach all the function of different kinds of car lights and when to use it? I doubt not.

I believe road accidents happen due to driver's attitude and non-application of some common sense.
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Mar 13, 2008
I'm still waiting for all the hazard light users to rip apart my argument for keeping them off except for emergencies:

bonk wrote:It will make a difference to the guy going 35 kph instead of 30 kph, or travelling 10 car lengths behind you instead of 11 car lengths. When you stop suddenly for whatever reason, you won't be able to warn them, they'll drive another 20m before they figure out you've actually stopped and it'll be too late, they'll crash in to you. If he had his hazard lights on, he won't be able to warn the car behind him who might crash into him, and so on and so on ...

Those drivers aren't the ones tearing down the highway in rocketships, they're the ordinary drivers like you and me who might be distracted momentarily - a kid in the back whines about something, change the CD, the radio station, look at the phone to see who's ringing, clean that smudge on the windscreen, grab a tissue because you're about to sneeze. In fog you can't afford to take your eyes off the road for a second, unlike in clear day where you have a much greater awareness of what's happening around you.
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Mar 13, 2008
bonk wrote:I'm still waiting for all the hazard light users to rip apart my argument for keeping them off except for emergencies:

bonk wrote:It will make a difference to the guy going 35 kph instead of 30 kph, or travelling 10 car lengths behind you instead of 11 car lengths. When you stop suddenly for whatever reason, you won't be able to warn them, they'll drive another 20m before they figure out you've actually stopped and it'll be too late, they'll crash in to you. If he had his hazard lights on, he won't be able to warn the car behind him who might crash into him, and so on and so on ...

Those drivers aren't the ones tearing down the highway in rocketships, they're the ordinary drivers like you and me who might be distracted momentarily - a kid in the back whines about something, change the CD, the radio station, look at the phone to see who's ringing, clean that smudge on the windscreen, grab a tissue because you're about to sneeze. In fog you can't afford to take your eyes off the road for a second, unlike in clear day where you have a much greater awareness of what's happening around you.


If you suddenly stop your brake lights come on. It was said earlier.

I'm tired of this argument, I win.
^ian^
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Mar 13, 2008
you guys dont get it .. this was just another "worlds biggest, largest, most amazing" ... car accident !!! one more thing for guinness book of records.
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Mar 13, 2008
^ian^ wrote:If you suddenly stop your brake lights come on. It was said earlier.

Brake lights come on whether a car is slowing down gradually or suddenly stops. They serve a different purpose to hazard warning lights. You really don't get it do you?

^ian^ wrote:I'm tired of this argument, I win.

Bravo.

I wasn't trying to win an argument, I was trying to explain how you could become a safer driver. If you choose not to, so be it. People who drive safely shouldn't be directly affected by your decision, but you will be - your chances of being hit by an inattentive driver are higher.

I accept I've failed to convince you of that, so yes, I guess you've won.
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Mar 13, 2008
bonk wrote:
^ian^ wrote:If you suddenly stop your brake lights come on. It was said earlier.

Brake lights come on whether a car is slowing down gradually or suddenly stops. They serve a different purpose to hazard warning lights. You really don't get it do you?

^ian^ wrote:I'm tired of this argument, I win.

Bravo.

I wasn't trying to win an argument, I was trying to explain how you could become a safer driver. If you choose not to, so be it. People who drive safely shouldn't be directly affected by your decision, but you will be - your chances of being hit by an inattentive driver are higher.

I accept I've failed to convince you of that, so yes, I guess you've won.


Correct... now lets go eat ice cream.
^ian^
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Mar 13, 2008
Once more, it is simple, all drivers obey the same set of rules and we may stay alive longer.
Those of you who want to make it up as you go along only serve to endanger your own and more importantly other peoples lives.
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