Death raises biker-safety issue

Readers urge cyclists to exercise caution. Other topics: Dubai's parking problem, terrorism, Saudi brain drain, UAE government, travel to Mars

Readers urge bikers in the UAE to exercise caution. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

With reference to your article Tributes pour in for cyclist killed on tour (February 16), roads should be closed to normal traffic during these events, as in Oman where people are informed about road closures well in advance when such events take place.

Aziza Al Busaidy, Dubai

The death of the cyclist Lucy Monro is a warning that people should avoid these road events until proper safety measures are in place.

Sarah Calderwood, Abu Dhabi

There is not much information on how the accident happened. Where did the motorcyclists come from? With so many cyclists in the race, it seems a bit odd that one person got hit.

As a cyclist this concerns me, but I’d like to see a little more detail before jumping to the conclusion that it was the usual careless driving.

Don Glass, Dubai

What makes Mars trip so alluring?

It's interesting that two candidates from the UAE have been chosen from 200,000 applicants for the next round of Mars One, which plans to take humans to the Red Planet (Two UAE residents shortlisted for Mars programme, February 17).

It’s also interesting how different individuals have different aspirations. For example, those seeking to travel to Mars know it’s a one-way journey. They know there is nothing on the Red Planet other than a barren and inhospitable environment. So what drives their desire to go there? Surely they want to see the unseen and reach the seemingly unreachable place. It’s perhaps this desire that helps us evolve as a species.

Milon Molikar, Dubai

Terrorists are misguided

With reference to Faisal Al Yafai's opinion article Why is Europe exporting jihadis to the Middle East? (February 17), most "home grown" terrorists in Europe are originally from North Africa. They are clearly misguided and frustrated, even though their parents are well integrated into European society.

Nadia Sarie, Abu Dhabi

Dubai needs more car parks

I have been working at the Dubai Airport Free Zone for the past two years. One of the difficulties I have faced is to find a proper place to park my car. There are many people who face the same situation everyday.

One of the problems in this area – as well as in most other places in Dubai – is that it does not have enough car parks to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles.

Because of this, motorists are forced to park haphazardly, often blocking vehicles that are parked properly. Those who do so usually display their phone numbers on the dashboard, so that they can be contacted when their cars need to be moved.

This causes a lot of disturbance, especially for people like us who have to get up in the middle of our work every day to move our vehicles.

It also causes inconvenience for our customers as they have a hard time finding a parking spot.

This situation needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.

Mathew Litty, Dubai

Give statistics on Saudi brain drain

I refer to the article There is good reason for the Saudi brain drain (February 16).

I am a Saudi national and I got my bachelor’s degree in medicine from a Saudi university and masters from a prestigious British university.

I did not find a big difference between the two education systems. In fact, I did not learn anything new in the UK.

It would have been better if the article had mentioned some statistics on brain drain from Saudi Arabia and what really triggers it.

Meshael Alkhaldi, Saudi Arabia