Functioning air pumps are rare

As a resident, I like living in the UAE and appreciate the overall services available.

The petrol stations around the country are especially good, but I have faced problems frequently with non-functioning devices.

The questionable facilities I refer to are the air pumps in petrol stations, which are usually out of order. Such stations are found on highways and busy roads and they often face a long queue of people who are returning from Dubai to Sharjah.

It appears that petrol stations are more concerned about catering to primary customers, and are not interested in helping people who would like to check their tyre pressure.

I am cautious about my car and try to check on my tyre pressure at least once a week, so when I discovered that the air pump in Al Taawun Road was not working, I had to search for other petrol stations.

To my surprise, all petrol stations in my area had non-functioning electronic or manual air pumps, with leaking pipes and broken devices.

Finally, I had to get the air pressure checked at a workshop. I have faced this experience several times now. The air pump in the petrol station next to my home has been out of service for weeks, and this problem seems to exist in other petrol stations too.

Having no air pumps at convenient locations, like petrol stations, could cause people to become negligent about checking air pressure in tyres. This can cause tyres to burst while driving, leading to accidents and other serious consequences.

I request the authorities to strictly check all petrol stations and ensure that there are additional air pumps available in inventory, so that they can be used when one goes down.

Due to safety concerns, I believe this problem needs to be brought to the attention of relevant authorities and corrected.

— The reader is based in Sharjah.

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