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Of pedestrians

The authorities need to realise that putting up the barriers won’t stop the pedestrians.

I am in complete agreement with the letter (Don’t blame jaywalkers, KT, February 22). Jaywalkers wouldn’t be so if the authorities concerned provided crossings adequately. It’s rather upsetting also, to read that instead the traffic police are tasked with the pointless job of fining them.

I am a resident of Sharjah, staying in Al Taawun area. Anyone who has lived there for even a few months can relate horrific stories of people being run over by speeding cars that are driven by motorists frustrated by the Dubai to Sharjah traffic. Trying to get home early, the motorists tend to speed up over the Al Nahda interchange and it is not uncommon to hear (and in some cases, even witness) people run over by cars. The KT recently carried a story of a 60-year old Egyptian man being run over in the same area.

Another hugely dangerous point is when people run across the Dubai-Sharjah-Dubai highway feinting over the barriers, probably in an attempt to save cab money. The authorities need to realise that putting up the barriers won’t stop the pedestrians. Subways and/or footbridges are desperately needed to assist pedestrians, rather than calling them “jaywalkers” and fining them indiscriminately.

Name withheld, by email