Cameras alone are not enough to tackle bad driving

A reader says speed cameras alone cannot change the driving behaviour in the UAE. Other topics: alcoholism, Abu Dhabi airport, nuclear rivalry

A reader says cameras alone are not enough to change the driving culture in the country. Sammy Dallal / The National

Installing 50 more radars is a great idea (Dubai Police installs 50 new radar cameras, May 16), but what about those of us who like to leave a safe distance between us and the car in front, only to have that space taken up by the majority of drivers in the UAE who have no idea about braking distances in dry conditions, let alone wet? Will these cameras show that the person who had originally left the safe braking distance space is not, in fact, tailgating the car that has pulled in front of it?

I think not, as one of my colleagues from the UK was recently given a ticket for supposedly tailgating the car in front, when I know from being a passenger in her car that she is a law abiding driver.

It may be time to get a dashcam camera to protect yourself from unwanted fines and tickets.

Name withheld by request

The authorities should focus a bit on pedestrian crossings around schools. It’s shameful how grown adults are too selfish to let children pass.

Ameerah Jolene-Ann van Heerden, Dubai

Loneliness leads to alcoholism

I refer to the article Alcoholics Anonymous in UAE: 'attendees are getting younger' (April 21).

This article doesn’t address the causes of alcoholism in the UAE – especially for expatriates. The UAE can be a lonely place for people who are isolated from communities in their own countries. I have been here off and on for almost 18 months. As an educated American woman, there is no social outlet/ volunteering and even my church has no outreach programmes (at least, not any that I know of or make me feel welcome). I moved here to be with my husband.

For white-collar expatriates, there is no sense of community as we often live in buildings and villas scattered throughout the city. At times, I envy the workers who live in camps or are given quarters in company-provided buildings. At least there is a common bond among those expatriate populations. When I have met other North American and European spouses, most of them want to “lunch” at a hotel where alcohol is available.

Others enjoy shopping, shopping, shopping. I feel as if I am watching a 1960s television show and surrounded by stereotypes. I am smarter than to become an alcoholic but that doesn’t make me immune to depression or other addictions.

My experience here has reinforced what I already knew: money cannot buy happiness.

Patricia Perry Geiger, Dubai

Abu Dhabi airport needs upgrade

If Abu Dhabi International Airport is to become a first class airport that it hopes to be in the future, some serious changes will have to be made in passport/ immigration control.

I recently arrived from overseas into Terminal 3 at 8pm (along with numerous other flights), but passport control only had four immigration officers to handle the huge crowds coming into the country. Wait times were more than one hour, and people were not happy.

Inefficiency and lack of planning should not be the first impression of Abu Dhabi that people get when they enter the country.

Also, I’ve been a participant of “eGate” since its inception, and from my frequent travels into and out of the country, my experience tells me that the system doesn’t work 50 per cent of the time.

The airport used to have eGate agents on hand to handle problems when the system didn’t work and would eventually clear you at the eGate entrance. Unfortunately, the last two times I entered the country, no agents were on hand to fix the problems.

No special lines were dedicated to residents with eGate clearance when the system didn’t work, so “20 seconds to clear immigration for eGate participants” became 70 minutes. Abu Dhabi can do so much better.

Alan Branson, Abu Dhabi

Nuclear rivalry is a balancing act

It's right to see the vulnerable security of South Asia from the point of view of India and Pakistan relations and their tit-for-tat strategies (Tactical arms race between India and Pakistan raises the prospect of a nuclear dispute, May 14). India first introduced nuclear weapons in the region decades ago and Pakistan followed suit. A similar situation persists even today when one country's plans are matched by its neighbour.

Tooba Mansoor, Dubai