I agree with your editorial that taxis in Abu Dhabi would benefit enormously from having a more distinct livery (A moving symbol, February 22).
While the silver-coloured vehicles are a vast improvement on the old-style taxis, they are nevertheless difficult to spot among the hundreds of other silver cars on the road.
A brighter colour such as sunshine yellow, would make taxis much more visible, instantly. This might help prevent accidents and they might have fewer scrapes and bumps too.
Lesley Cooper, Abu Dhabi
The black cabs of London aren’t famous just because they are black.
It’s because the cabbies who drive them are supposed to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the city.
Sanchia Guha, India
New York is a grey city with brightly coloured taxis. London’s black cabs have a very elegant shape.
Abu Dhabi's minivans will not be iconic. Christie Eckardt, Abu Dhabi
Buildings require emergency plans
In reference to Tenants face wait after tower blaze (February 22), about the fire at the Torch in Dubai, I would like to raise the issue of evacuating pregnant women, elderly people and those with disabilities.
I live on the 50th floor of an apartment building on Al Reem in Abu Dhabi and I don’t know what to do if I need to evacuate.
Do all residential buildings have contingency plans for such an emergency?
How can an old person or a pregnant women evacuate a 50-plus floor building without using the lift?
M El Rafei, Abu Dhabi
I have not yet read what caused the fire. That’s the most important thing for those of us who live in high-rise buildings.
It would be good to know if it was started by smokers or whether it was on account of some internal fault. I hope we get to know the reason soon.
Christina Murphy, Abu Dhabi
Dust storms can pose health risks
The weather has been extremely unpleasant (UAE dust storms likely to last for days, February 21).
Dust storms are particularly harmful to those afflicted by health problems such as bronchitis, asthma and allergies. Also, motorists should exercise extra caution due to poor visibility. Fatima Suhail, Dubai
Clarification on smoking laws
We are writing in reference to the Michael Karam article, Lebanon's Law 174 goes up in smoke (February 9), referring to anti-smoking rules in Beirut.
The title of the article misleads readers by suggesting that the law was cancelled or modified when implementation went ahead. We challenge the writer to find a single source to prove that interior minister Mohammad Machnouk “announced that Law 174 was to be relaxed”. That statement was made by the Syndicate of Restaurants, not by Mr Machnouk.
It would have been wise for your writer to investigate the validity of the Syndicate’s claims about loss of business. Revenue data submitted by hospitality venue owners to the ministry of finance reveal that the sector grew 33.2 per cent between 2010 and 2014, with no negative growth between any two years.
Moreover, a 2013 American University of Beirut brief shows that Law 174 caused a 3 per cent revenue increase for the sector.
Fines against individuals are $90, not $450.
As reported by the ministry of health and the Tobacco Control Citizen Watch, today’s compliance rate stands at around 40 per cent, not 70 per cent.
The statement that “the law was ill-conceived” and “should have been phased in over a period of time” is itself ill-conceived. The indoor ban took effect in 2011 in all closed public places except hospitality venues that requested and were granted a full year to adapt.
Karam’s call for awareness campaigns is anachronous given that the Civil Society Campaign for the Implementation of Law 174 has been conducting such campaigns nationwide for 15 years.
Finally, it is wrong to say that the law “did not take into consideration the interests of shisha cafes”.
Karam answers himself in the article by noting the “rather worrying habit of putting crude business interests ahead of the public good”.
The Civil Society Campaign for the Implementation of Law 174, Beirut
