I am writing about Taxi drivers to get phone headsets (September 12).
The plan to give Bluetooth units to cab drivers won’t make any difference to the levels of road safety in the UAE.
There are people in every society who do not respect the rules and laws.
These people tend to think that an accident will never happen to them. They also drive me crazy when, for example, they take up the space that I leave between me and the car in front. That is my safe-braking distance; it is not there for someone to pull into.
The best advice my driving instructor gave me 26 years ago was: “Drive as if everyone on the road is a complete idiot who is likely to violate any traffic law at any given time and you should be fine.”
Never a truer thing was said, especially in the UAE
U Bahji, Dubai
Is it speed or stupidity that causes accidents?
I suppose when you combine both, you need to look out.
I often see people on mobile phones and applying lipstick while they are driving – and we wonder why we have accidents.
Randall Mohammed, Dubai
Instead of the authorities reducing the speed limit on the roads, they could place a computer chip in cars that will prevent them from exceeding a certain speed.
While this idea might actually serve the purpose of reducing speeding on our roads, I am not too sure how the dealers who sell the fast cars will like it.
However, in my opinion, it is not the product that is at fault but the person using the product.
No matter how much you try to hurt their pocket, they will still do it. This has been proven with smokers and cigarettes.
In many places the tax on cigarettes goes up but, strangely, so does consumption – as proven by the large profits the cigarette manufactures make year after year.
Mishal Kanoo, Duba
Metro extension plan welcomed
I refer to Rail the right track for future transport (September 15).
Indeed, Dubai needs more metro lines and in Abu Dhabi we definitely need a metro system.
Jose Hernandez, Abu Dhabi
If there were a rail network that actually worked – like Tokyo’s for example – then I would stop driving to work.
John Paravolos, Dubai
Driving is a passion of mine, but I would drive considerably less if I had the convenience of using the metro.
Sajjad Rizvi, Dubai
Social media fans should get a life
It seems that young people today are addicted to social media.
Even many adults, including top executives and other responsible managers, spend a good amount of their precious time at work on social media.
Yet the messages exchanged in the virtual world are mostly trivial.
The smartphone culture has changed youngsters’ perceptions of life, made them rather shallow and left them unprepared to negotiate the more serious aspects of life.
Social media may have changed our lives, but it has also left many people disconnected from the realities of life. This is a big concern for parents.
It is time to wean our children off their addiction to social media so they can use their time more productively.
Ramachandran Nair, Oman
Web presence a must for business
I refer to Most SMEs in Emirates fail to make their presence felt on internet (September 9).
I think many small businesses are either afraid of the expense of building a website and being online or they don’t understand enough about it, so they put it off.
If more web developers and design agencies explained things in simpler terms and had the skills to explain the value of being online, then more SMEs would go online.
Being online is no longer about just having a static website. There is a lot to consider – social media, online public relations, blogs and so on – and a lack of knowledge of these can be a barrier to entry.
This is especially true for local businesses that don’t see the need to sell to people online when they have a perfectly good physical store.
They need to understand that it’s not just about selling their products online, it’s about being found to begin with and then engaging with your audience.
Name withheld by request
