The “real Goonies” hit by an accident
During my visit to El Gouna in July 2005 I had an interview with Charlotte and Richard Boys, two residents from Sussex, England, who live already since 3 years in El Gouna. Richard runs the wellknown Smugglers’ in the Marina, Charlotte worked as a teacher before she became a mother.
The topic of the interview was indeed the fact that this charming young woman gave last year birth to two beautiful twins and had decided not to go to an hospital in Cairo, but trusted the facilities of the El Gouna Hospital. And she was very positive indeed about her experiences at the El Gouna Hospital which she called “the best hospital in Red Sea area”.
My article was therefor prepared under the theme: …the real Goonies…
About one year after she gave birth, she was delivered however once more at the El Gouna Hospital. Because we learned this week about the terrible accident that hit Charlotte Boys during her trip from Cairo to El Gouna in which the Driver of the Orascom limousine died and Charlotte got injured seriously.
El Gouna Times wants to express our deepest sympathie to the families of both the victims.
This accident steamed up once more the discussion between residents of El Gouna about road security in Egypt in general and in El Gouna in particular. As we couldn’t verify the details about the accident’s circumstances, we can only once more put the finger on the fact that something has to be done to improve road security.
We can’t change the situation on Egyptian roads, but El Gouna development wants to attract Europeans. So the responable persons of El Gouna development should try better to do something about the reckless driving style in El Gouna.
So let’s start with the obligation that ALL vehicles should TURN ON LIGHTS when entering and driving in El Gouna. Day and Night. Security posts at the entrance can inform drivers that neglecting this rule will result in black list of drivers who are no longer allowed to enter El Gouna.
And please add speed bumps on dangereous trajects to reduce the overall speed.
As a tribute to Charlotte and to improve the community feeling in El Gouna, we hereby publish some pictures we’ve made during our interview in July 2005 to show that we don’t discuss just another anonymous accident, but that such tragic things happen to people we all know and care for.
People who make El Gouna to the place that uses the slogan “Life as it should be”.
It are those people who deserve more attention when it comes to road safety.
Charlotte, good luck for your upcoming medical surgery, and to Richard and the kids: the El Gouna Community stands behind you and supports you.
Our readers are kindly requested to write supporting comments or safety improvement tips to the bottom of this article by clicking the text Write a Comment here below.
We are sure your comments will be read by people who write the often cited El Gouna City Regulations.
Hopefully your comments can improve traffic safety in future. The Staff of El Gouna Times will return to El Gouna on October 31th, 2005, for a follow up.
Responsable editor: Hubert Savelberg
October 3rd, 2005 at 11:12
Firstly I would add my good wishes for a speedy recovery and my condolences to the family of the driver.
My Sawiris obviously cannot be held accountable for the driving skills (or lack thereof) of people outside of El Gouna, but he could make them accountable inside. I think people love El Gouna because you feel so safe, but all we hear lately is bad news about driving and car accidents. Speed humps would be a very good idea and how about a driving speed of say 20mph (sorry I don’t do kilometers) with a fine for those caught driving above this limit. I cannot believe anybody needs to speed in El Gouna, it takes no time at all to get from one end to the other. What people do outside is of course their business.
Jenny Salter
October 3rd, 2005 at 19:10
Hi Jenny: tx for your input: even the Tok Toks speed up to 40-45 mph (60-70 km an hour) when they have the wind in the back…
October 5th, 2005 at 13:17
Hi Hubert,
I would like to extend my sympathy to the family of the driver involved in the accident and to wish Charlotte a full recovery and best of luck with the upcoming surgery.
On our return trip to the airport in July last the 2 cars we had took the new dual carrigeway. It looks as if this road is not yet open and our cars were the only ones using it. The car did 110 miles per hour. This was good fun for the kids however not only was it dangerous it was more so as the road was not commissioned so there could have been any obstacle on it. This was very dangerous. The road should not be available for use until fully commissioned and then an appropriate speed limit put on it. Everybody is so helpful over there and just a few health and safety rules need to be put in place to protect all occupants of el Gouna, not just the tourists but the local people also.
October 5th, 2005 at 21:19
We too would like to add our sympathies and, of course, our very best wishes to Charlotte and the family. Get well soon!!!
October 9th, 2005 at 07:39
We’ve just arrived back from El Gouna and would like to express our sympathies to the drivers family. We managed a very brief word with Richard before he went off to Cairo with Charlotte, and we sincerely hope she is recovering well.
On our return journey, we had an excellent driver who also took the new dual carriageway road back to the airport. The road was deserted, but he drove very steadily and I never felt concerned with his driving. However, towards the end of the journey, a big lorry came heading towards us on OUR SIDE of the dual carriageway! Good job he was in the other lane otherwise we wouldn’t have been here to tell the story. Guess he didn’t know there was a separate road for traffic going in the opposite direction.
Also we were in a near miss with a tuc tuc whilst travelling round El Gouna.
As prospective home owners in El Gouna, this is an issue that is giving us a lot of concern so hopefully things will be done to make it a safer place for everyone.
Penny