Changing mindsets
Having spent 18 years in law enforcement in the US, I find it very disturbing to constantly read about deadly traffic accidents in the UAE (‘Car crashes into Sharjah shop’, Gulf News, June 4). In my opinion, radars do not curtail speeding or aggressive driving. You need stringent traffic enforcement. Radars are only a deterrent. In order to stop erratic driving behaviours, you must physically stop the motorist and disrupt their behaviour. I arrived in the UAE in 2011 and I was shocked at the way people drove: the tailgating and the flashing of the lights when you are abiding by the speed limit. I truly feared for my life. Some drivers have no regard for their safety as well as others. The only way bad habits can be broken is to take away the right to operate a motor vehicle. First and foremost, you have to change the mindset of the driver in order to make changes to their habits. Once might be a mistake, but doing the same thing over and over is a habit. Bad habits need to be broken.
From Mr Anthony Washington
Al Ain
Driving troubles
The ratio of these kinds of accidents seems to be very high, because of several reasons. Take the example of drivers. Because they do not get enough rest, they fall asleep while driving and most of the time when they’re awake, they feel like dozing off. If the same situation continues, these incidents will keep increasing. I urge the authorities to look into this issue. A good solution would be to reduce the amount of hours that drivers work each day.
From Mr Rehmat Laal
Dubai
Getting worse
Recently, when trying to reverse out of a parking space, a motorist came out of nowhere and blasted his horn at me while speeding away. It left me quite shocked. He obviously knew I was reversing and would have had to wait approximately 30 seconds for me to get out of the parking space. Was this too much to ask? Every day, I’m even more appalled by driving behaviour I see on the roads. It’s getting ridiculously dangerous.
From Ms Jaya P.
Dubai
Waiting for shelter
It is true that there are many bus stops and taxi waiting areas where there is no shelter for those commuters who don’t have transportation of their own (‘Many Abu Dhabi commuters still suffering from summer heat while waiting for buses’, Gulf News, June 5). There are also bus stops where shelters have been provided, but they are being used by only a few commuters. This is mainly on Hamdan Street. I’ve noticed that the number of bus stops with shelters becomes lesser and lesser starting from the old Tourist Club area. This is the right time to have more shelters, as more and more people are using public transportation and summer is in full swing.
From V. P. Abraham
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
Reopen bus stops
The authorities have also closed a lot of bus stops around the city, which makes the problem more severe. Even though these bus stops are closed for maintenance, some of the stops that have already been completed with regards to renovation work have still not been opened. I urge authorities to kindly open the bus stops wherever they have finished their work, instead of waiting and opening them all at the same time.
From Mr Abdul Samad
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
No respite
I urge the authorities to please consider the bus stops situation seriously. Commuters in public buses have no place to take shelter from the scorching sun while they wait for minutes on end.
From Mr Tarek
Dubai
Website comment
Time for change
Water and food shortage, along with the global energy crisis are issues I’d want to change in the world (‘Masdar postgraduates want to change world’, Gulf News, June 5). It would be an ideal situation if people across the globe had access to clean water, electricity and basic facilities. Even in today’s world where we have advanced technologically and explored other planets in outer space, it is a shame that there are millions who are deprived of these necessities on our own planet. The country where I come from (Pakistan) is suffering from a severe energy crisis, droughts and famine. I wish for these students to come up with a solution that would help such people in desperate need.
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Dubai
Facebook comment
The three R’s
Collecting materials for recycling and reuse was practiced by my grandmother in India. When I was a child, I used to observe her collecting anything made from plastic, paper or clothes and hand it over to a collector who frequented the streets every Sunday. This activity gave her immense satisfaction, not to forget the few coins she got in exchange. Another activity which amused me a lot was counting the number of clothes and weighing newspapers that my mother dutifully handed over to a vendor of steel utensils and plastic items. With utensils mounted high on cane baskets tied with jute ropes to his bicycle carrier, the vendor used to announce his visit to every home. My family’s recycling efforts did not end here. We saved empty talcum powder tins and big oil cans to convert them into dust pans and waste baskets. Worn out slippers and shoes were picked up by cobblers to repair footwear, which needed extra padding but were otherwise good. Broken plastic items were melted to stick other items or to fill holes and cracks. All these activities were done by everyone, without them really understanding the significance of the three R’s that are promoted nowadays, to increase awareness among people about environmental friendliness. Now, I make sure that my children do their part in reducing their consumption, reusing instead of buying new things and recycling what can be recycled. The importance of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ has to be inculcated among children as a valuable lesson in life.
From Ms Shamila Janakiraman
UAE
Future without animals?
I am sickened when I read such reports (‘Poachers kill even baby elephants, says expert’, Gulf News, June 6). Animals do not have a voice and it is people’s responsibility to watch out for them. Poaching, in itself, is a horrific crime, as it has been the cause for some species of animals becoming endangered or going extinct. But to read that even the young of animals are not spared is tragic and disheartening. I wonder if future generations will see the gorgeous animals we see today. Or will it just be something they find in their history books?
From Mr Hamza Zohaib
Sharjah
Inefficient colleagues
The time I spend at my workplace is limited and I often find myself juggling many different tasks at any one time. However, when inefficient colleagues are unable to manage their own time and do the work they’re assigned, it inevitably ends up with the more disciplined worker bees having to pay the price. They may have forgotten to do something, or may have done it badly, but do not bother with the consequences and merrily go off on their weekend, without a care in the world, while others are left to pick up the pieces. Why do we do it? Out of a sense of responsibility or integrity to our workplace and ourselves. I wonder why the same sense of duty isn’t valued by most people. Don’t they care?
From Ms Aya Ahmad
Abu Dhabi
Fading skills
My teenage brother’s handwriting is abysmal (‘Handwriting helps make children smarter’, Gulf News, June 4). We always tease him that he might find himself becoming a doctor, because medical professionals are often considered to have terrible handwriting. Jokes aside, I worry that perhaps technology is robbing children of skills that would have been considered second nature for their parents’ generation. These aren’t exceptionally difficult skills — simple things like doing math mentally or on your fingers, reading and recalling that information in intelligent conversation, being social away from gadgets! These were commonplace just a decade or two ago. So much has changed, and I worry for future generations. What will their children learn from them?
From Mr Sumitra Bhattacharya
Dubai
Parents to blame
Very true report. It’s because of laziness in parents. These days, they prefer their children to be stuck in front of an iPad all the time. It’s very bad.
From Ms Samantha Yvonne Davies
UAE
Facebook comment
Editors’ note: Is there a news report that you feel strongly about? Something that has to be addressed in the community and requires resolution? Email us on readers@ gulfnews.com. You can also post a comment on our Facebook page or tweet us @GNReaders.
