Self-driving cars don't need to talk

A reader notes that Google's driverless cars don't need to be able to communicate with other vehicles, as some experts have suggested. Other topics: debt, marriage and Pakistan's election.

A reader praises Google's self-driving car, saying it doesn't need to "talk" to other vehicles. Karen Bleier / AFP

Mandatory safety belts will reduce road death toll

I am writing in reference to Road death toll cuts average life expectancy (April 14).

Mandatory seat belts and mandatory child safety seats, hand in hand with speed enforcement, could help reduce the number of people who die on UAE roads.

The suggestion of publishing the locations of speed cameras is not going to help the situation. People will slow down when they come to the radars and then speed up again once they are past them.

Teri Adams, Dubai

Mandatory seat belts for all car drivers and passengers would drastically reduce the road toll.

Why do some people let their children move about freely in their cars? Wearing seat belts could save whole families in the case of an accident.

Andrea Williams, Dubai

Marriage is key to a stable society

I am writing in reference to the blog post Our mixed up thinking about marrying foreigners (April 11).

The problem is not marriage between foreigners and Emiratis, but the growing unmarried population in theUAE.

A society can't function when there is such an imbalance; where people are marrying late or opting out of the culture of marriage.

A working marriage is a sign of a stable society.

Marriage should be encouraged, but the trend of hyper-expensive weddings should not.

A Khaliq, Dubai

Self-driving cars don't need to talk

I see no reason that cars have to be able to "talk" to each other before they can be autonomous (Shift in vehicle development, April 14).

Google's driverless cars have driven half a million miles safely without doing so.

Such communication would be helpful, but cars can't be dependent on it.

If these cars can't reliably sense their environment and navigate through it, then their "conversations" will just be the blind leading the blind.

B Sweezy, US

Pakistanis must use vote wisely

May 11 is election day in Pakistan. It is a day when responsible citizens, including expatriate Pakistanis in the UAE, have the constitutional right for their voices to be heard and become part of the "will of the majority" that will govern the country.

Although voting is said to be the cornerstone of democracy, too few Pakistani people exercise their right to vote.

The system is designed for citizen participation and those who excuse themselves from this right, citing their sense of futility, are delegating their fate to the hands of others.

As a responsibility to help improve the way of life for future generations, voting is an ethical choice. It propels an opportunity for every individual to be mindful and become part of the solution and not the problem.

Informed voters are the backbone of the electoral process. Voters who take time out to read the issues, study the candidates and decide the future of the nation are the ones who are going to bring back the shattered state of Pakistan from oblivion to a better and brighter place.

Those who vote out of hate, anger and ignorance will get what they vote for. It's a process of engagement not only with oneself but collectively with the entire nation. Moreover, if done correctly, it's an educational and knowledge-gathering experience.

All that yelling in front of the TV s will not change a thing inPakistan unless citizens take to the polls and decide to make voting important.

Bilal Farooq, Abu Dhabi

Support for law change on debts

I am writing in reference to the decriminalisation of bounced cheques (Direct debit system to arrive in June, April 10).

I'm no lawyer, but it would seem that regardless of whether the banks are reticent or not, the law should be changed to avoid putting people in jail who do not belong there.

Debtors' prison is an anachronistic idea that does not match the progressive nature of the UAE.

Donald Glass, US

Quick resales may fuel property crash

Flipping is the fuel of bubbles and crashes, and I think it's time it became illegal (Call for curb on home 'flippers', April 15).

In many countries, you have to hold the property until the keys are handed over and it's fully paid for. Bassem P Fakhry, Dubai