We, as drivers, aren’t being safe enough

We, as drivers, aren’t being safe enough

There are some drivers, particularly commuters, who I categorise as restless drivers. I drive daily from Sharjah to Al Barsha in Dubai and back, and what I see on the roads is bad drivers who do not care about other people’s lives. Some of us drive carefully, but what we see is others driving so restlessly that they do not stick to one lane. They keep on changing lanes without even indicating. They don’t seem to care if there is enough space left between cars when changing lanes either. They will squeeze in wherever they get a place, which could result in accidents as the other drivers may be not expecting their sudden lane changes. If such drivers would act responsibly and stick to their dedicated lanes, I think that the rate of accidents would come down drastically.

Other bad drivers are some of the taxi drivers. I would not blame all of them, but some of them are quite careless. They suddenly stop without indicating if they see a potential passenger. They don’t bother to indicate when they are in the middle of the road and wish to suddenly pull over. These are all some of the reasons for the increasing number of accidents on the road, in my opinion. The authorities here are working so hard to provide us with the best of facilities to make our lives safe, but we are the ones who are not using these facilities properly and not following the rules and regulations. We have to improve our driving habits and help the authorities to reduce the number of accidents happening on the roads by driving safely.

From Mr Ajeet Kumar S. Pillai

Dubai

Unfortunate mistake

It is extremely tragic that a person lost his life and another has been left critical in the hospital due to the carelessness of a motorist (‘One killed, another hurt as vehicle crashes into Sharjah money exchange house’, Gulf News, December 20). Sadly, this isn’t the first incident of its kind where the driver accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. These unfortunate incidents call for fences and barriers outside shops, especially those on main roads so that damage can be prevented or contained in case the driver loses concentration.

From Ms Fatima Suhail

Ajman

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Exploiting children for war

It is quite sad that such gruesome incidents continue to happen around the world, like this latest suicide bombing in Aden, Yemen (‘Second suicide bomb attack on Yemeni soldiers in a week’, Gulf News, December 19). The plight of suicide bombers are a shock, as reports indicate that they involve educated youngsters, who leave their home town and join the fighters with no foreseeable return. The struggle they had in their early days in life is overlooked by sectarian outlooks. They have been emotionally attached to commit any sort of atrocities that eventually lead to killing the civilian community. The number of such incidents are growing every day.

The fact is that despite the world spending heavily on tackling the spread of extremism, it is quite disappointing that mass spending on defence is on the rise by responsible countries. In this new era of living, security has become the biggest challenge for everyone and thus every second in life is a mix with anxiety of what comes next.

From Mr Ramachandran Nair

Oman

Trying his best

The Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte really is an awesome leader (‘US says it will work with Duterte after latest outburst’, Gulf News, December 19). I saw his interview on the television where a reporter asked him how he wants world to remember him. He said he wanted to be remembered as a noble and pious man who tried his best.

From Mr Zubair Shafi

UAE

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We need peace

I’m praying that nothing bad will happen to Duterte because I fear it would lead to a civil war. From the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, where the city of Davao is located, he is the only president craving peace. Peace negotiations between rebels is on the way. The US wants another devastated country like what they did to Iraq for the sake of their own interest. We need peace, not war.

From Mr Edmond Goyala Gojar

UAE

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He’s our chance

We love Duterte. I don’t think ever in Philippines history can you see people support a candidate to the extent that they have with Duterte. They spent their own money to print t-shirts and placards to help him in his candidacy seven months ago. We’ve never seen such a selfless and humble leader wanting nothing, but enough food for every family, education, health and safety for his countrymen. We want a non-corrupt government. It’s a once in a lifetime chance for us and, sadly, external powers, biased media and the greedy opposition are trying their best to oust him and discredit him for more power. No, we will not let them. Duterte is the people’s president.

From Ms Lai Marquez

Dubai

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Remembering victims

To have a statue to commemorate a Korean ‘comfort woman’ outside a Uniting Church in Sydney, Australia is quite natural (‘Statue sparks race row in Sydney’, Gulf News, December 16). Historians and scholars say, according to the report, that more than 200,000 Korean girls were forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels and they were kept in occupied territories before and during World War II. According to Japan, comfort stations were established to prevent rape crimes by army personnel. It was a form of mass military prostitution. The news report says that last year Japan apologised for this and assured compensation for the victims. In such cases, a mere apology or compensation cannot bring back the lost dignity and respect. I feel this memorial should remain. It should bring solace to the Korean community and serve as a reminder to all that women should enjoy respect, equality and dignity. The pain and agony of the victims should be respected.

From Mr Eappen Elias

Dubai

Caution needed online

Using computers and other similar devices to go online has made everyday activities such as shopping, banking, paying bills and keeping in touch fast and easy (‘8 things you need to do right now to protect yourself online’, Gulf News, December 18). However, there are quite a number of risks associated with going online. One has to play it safe in order to not fall prey to cyber criminals or bullies. Guarding your personal information, watching out for convincing imitation of banks, companies, charitable organisations, using hard-to-guess passwords, being alert and vigilant while using devices in public places and checking the authenticity of the information you get are some of the steps that one needs to take for safety and security.

From Ms Jayashree Kulkarni

UAE

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This is a joke

The US President Barack Obama hasn’t helped the Syrian crisis in any way throughout his presidency (‘Syria’s Al Assad, Russia and Iran have blood on their hands — Obama’, Gulf News, December 18). He is too late and his sorry last minute efforts are both a joke and contradictory given America’s interference and manipulation into yet another country’s business – for the sake of their resources!

From Ms Maxene Dodds

UAE

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Only talking

And who started this inconclusive war that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths? Not to mention the ongoing refugee crisis of desperate people leaving their lands - it’s tragic. Many powerful people showing multiple faces without actually working. Only talking while the people are dying.

From Mr Carlo Bini

UAE

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