Minibus drivers, not their vehicles, are the real problem

Readers weigh in on whether banning minibuses will improve road safety. Other topics: Greens parking fees, domestic staff and UAE sports.

Readers question whether banning minibuses addresses the real road-safety issue. Photo: Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National

With regard to your story, Transport providers divided on UAE-wide minibus ban (October 17), it isn't the buses that cause these accidents, it's the drivers.

They should be better trained and behave more like professional drivers, realising they’re responsible for the safety of their passengers.

Patrick Schelfhout, Dubai

Minibuses should not be banned because in remote areas of the UAE, it is really very tough to wait for a long time for full-size public transport buses.

This is especially so in places in the Western Region like Bidaa Zayed, Liwa, Ruwais and Sila.

Imran Iqbal, Abu Dhabi

It is not the vehicle that is at fault, but the drivers and the company they work for.

First, many of these minibuses are overcrowded and overloaded so the weight is not evenly distributed over the chassis, causing it to lean over to one side. This could also be because the vehicles are not well maintained and the tyres are not inflated properly.

However, as many of your readers have already stated, the drivers’ recklessness is the main reason these vehicles should be removed from the road. If that is not an option then they should have a dedicated lane on all roads. This is the same lane that buses and taxi drivers should use too.

Name withheld by request

Debating parking fees in The Greens

In reference to your story, The Greens parking meters activated despite residents' online petition (October 19), this is a great move.

When I was living in The Greens, it was impossible to find parking outside since it was free and many people weren’t paying a penny for keeping their cars there.

Now it’s almost empty every day and added to that it’s free from 9pm to 6am, which is great for the residents.

Ahmed Ali, Dubai

I think these parking charges are just an easy way to get more money.

If there was real concern about non-residents using the parking spaces then they could have easily provided all residents with a parking pass – free of charge – that can be hung on rear view mirrors.

The parking meters would still be needed because there would be no way to differentiate between people visiting friends or relatives and those who are just using the free parking.

Candace Leblanc, Ras Al Khaimah

Maids can offer a domestic lifeline

I'm writing in response to Khalid Al Ameri's essay, We are too reliant on maids ... and that has to change (October 14), to say many families have domestic help because often both parents need to work and they like someone to be there for their children when they get home from school.

Domestic help should be just that – to help with the household chores so that parents have time to spend with their children. I cannot agree with the idea of children being raised by maids full time.

Aziza Al Busaidy, Dubai

Domestic staff provide a helping hand that we need because of factors like the absence of grandpa and grandma and the rest of the extended family that would usually give that assistance in our countries of origin.

It’s not about not wanting to raise our own children nor is it about not wanting to clean our own house or car etc – which we do, by the way.

Riad Abdallah, Dubai

I go to the parks at night and on weekends. It’s a very rare sight to see a parent with their child.

All the kids are with the maids, or there will be a parent sitting nearby while the maid is laughing, pushing the child on the swing and catching the child on the slide.

It’s sad. It’s one thing to have someone watch your kids while you work, it’s another thing to miss out on parenting, which is the one pure joy in life.

Some parents are missing all those great moments while they pay someone else to experience the joy. It goes way too quick so take the time to enjoy them before the children grow up and are gone.

Shana Ahmad, Abu Dhabi

What other sports deserve support?

Your editorial about the UAE junior jiu-jitsu team competing in Los Angeles (California Dreaming, October 19) asks what sports ought to be promoted in the UAE.

In my view, it should be indoor sports in general: martial arts, fencing, swimming, basketball, handball and volleyball.

There should definitely be less support for football, which can survive without government help.

Name withheld by request

If you promote sport in general, I think the people who participate will demonstrate which ones warrant support.

Yulia Hulia, Dubai

I think swimming, surfing and sailing ought to be promoted.

Mihaela Soar, New Zealand