Dear Sir,
Regulations are required to protect lives of quad drivers at sand dunes. It is shocking to note that so many young lives are being lost near the Sealine resort sand dunes area in quad crashes.
Hundreds of shops in makeshift tents offer colourful quads on rental in the area and their prime customers are teenagers and even children. All these rental companies want is just the copy of a Qatari ID to issue a quad for driving .
Most accidents are caused by rider error. The best way to learn the skills necessary to ride an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or a quad bike safely and avoid accidents is to attend a specialised training course.
The rental companies must check whether people are capable of driving or having a licence before renting the quads out as the powerful machines can easily turn turtle and cause serious injury or even kill the rider.
Fun-loving teens can be seen driving quads at high speeds at the sand dunes near the resort. Driving on sand dune slopes can cause quads to flip over unexpectedly and could trap the driver under the heavy machine.
Following suggestions shall be useful to put an end to this uncontrolled sector.
1) Only professional rental companies should be given licence to operate outlets near sand dunes.
2) Quad users should have either a valid driving licence or should be 18 years and above.
3) Safety headgear, goggles, gloves and kneecap kits must be issued by rental companies to all drivers.
4) Brief demo class shall be given by rental companies to users explaining them how to drive the quad and safety lessons .
5) Traffic police shall be posted to monitor compliance to all above .
Vasanth
(e-mail address supplied)
Cryogenic rocket success
Dear Sir,
India’s space agency, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), is in the limelight with the successful launch of GSLV D5.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D5 rocket has been launched from the Sriharikota spaceport, in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, and after a 17-minute flight placed a communications satellite into orbit.
With the launch, India joins only five countries - the US, Russia, France, Japan and China - in designing and developing the cryogenic technology. Cryogenic engines are rocket motors designed for liquid fuels that have to be kept at low temperatures as they turn into a gaseous state at room temperature.
Indian scientists have been working on the technology for over two decades.
This is a great acheivement for the entire team in ISRO: this is the first successful mission in the last three years after two such rockets failed in 2010.
The GSLV, India’s most powerful space rocket, is crucial to the country’s future space missions, including its second mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-2, in 2016 that will use a GSLV rocket, media reports say.
The success of the cryogenic engine is crucial as it provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant burnt compared to solid/liquid fuels. New rockets can be built using this technology to carry heavier payloads. India can save a lot of foreign exchange as it can launch indigenous and foreign satellites from the country itself without depending on external space agencies.
Manoj C Velappan
(e-mail address supplied)
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