Federer had injuries before

A reader is all praise for Roger Federer. Other topics: driving, taxicam, Turkey, personal finance

What’s impressive about Roger Federer is that he never publicises his injuries, a reader says . Reuters

I refer to your story No Roger Federer in Dubai is a shame but his long-term fitness is of greater concern (February 9). In 2005, Federer tore ligaments in his right ankle that forced him to withdraw from three tournaments that autumn (Madrid Indoor Masters, Basel and Paris Indoor Masters).

Although he was not fully fit, he returned to competition at the 2005 World Tour Finals year-end championship (Tennis Masters Cup).

So Federer has experienced such injuries before, though it’s possible this injury is more severe.

What’s impressive about him is that he tends not to make a big deal of his injuries or turn it into a soap opera.

Tony Y, Dubai

Best ways to reduce accidents

I am puzzled why two obvious and immediately available measures to mitigate this problem are not being pursued (Fog lights aren't the full solution, February 9).

The first is concerned with training driver behaviour by conditioning though the use of “chevrons” painted at around 50m intervals on high-speed roads, with accompanying signage “keep a space of 2 chevrons”.

This is standard practice in Europe, and makes tailgating appear socially unacceptable.

The second is technological, and involves proximity detector automatic braking, which prevents vehicles getting too close to one another.

This is now available in new vehicles and can be retrofitted to older ones.

If this were made mandatory for all vehicles, then many collisions would be prevented, by eliminating driver error/ behaviour.

These two measures alone would surely decrease accidents and fatalities dramatically.

Andy Preston, Abu Dhabi

Is Turkey really overstretched?

Regarding the story Turkey: Reaching limits but will keep taking in refugees (February 8), Turkey is four times the size of Syria. It is more than double the size of Germany. Germany's population is more than Turkey's population by five million.

About three million Turks live and work happily in Germany. Syrians are considered to be migrants and Turkey boasts to be the host. Yet Turkey says it has reached its limits in terms of refugee acceptance and that only under pressure it might accept more. Does anyone see hypocrisy there?

Yasser, Dubai

Taxicams will protect drivers

What's not mentioned in the article Taxicams in Dubai spark privacy concern (February 4) is that drivers often face false complaints against them. Annoyed passengers often call the company and tell outright lies against them.

Others simply don’t pay or make a mess in the taxi. Taxi drivers also have problems from other drivers and this measure can protect them.

Phillie Hall, Abu Dhabi

How is it a breach of privacy? How is it different from CCTVs in malls and other public areas? I’d be much more comfortable knowing that my ride is being monitored.

Samia Iftekhar, Abu Dhabi

Need a sound financial plan

The editorial It’s time to think about retirement (February 7) reiterates the points that most of us already know. Most expatriates realise how important it is for them to save for the future.

However, people are bound to be influenced by the environment in which they live. Here it is such that you feel compelled to spend.

In a place where shopping and mall hopping is popular entertainment, what do you expect people to do?

One solution, as you have mentioned, is to put money in a pension fund, perhaps in your home country.

There are many who do it. The rest may be investing in other things, such as property and equity, which I think is equally wise.

Edwina Jasmi, Dubai