A glaring omission

June 1, 2008

Dear Sir,

I read with interest the road accident statistics in today's Royal Gazette. There was, however, one glaring omission: cause or suspected cause of accident. Road accidents are caused by many things: Alcohol, drugs, speeding, due care, fatigue, inexperience and weather to name a few. I applaud the efforts by Dr. Froncioni and the Road Safety Council but surely the cause of accidents needs to be known before effective solutions can be applied. Is alcohol the main cause of accidents or is there another more prevalent cause? Whatever the highest percentage cause should be tackled first and hardest.

PAS

Warwick

Editor's note: The study did not cover whether drivers were "under the influence" because at the time, these statistics were not kept on the medical records from which the study was drawn.

The solution is simple

June 2, 2008

Dear Sir,

Further to the very interesting article on BermudaSMARTRISK in today's newspaper, the time has come when very positive action needs to be taken, action which not only will help with reducing deaths and road traffic incidents, but will also help to reduce crime.

The first step will be to reintroduce the traffic squad with at least 12 officers, so that they can operate 24/7. Then as recruitment improves and more officers are available, increase the number to about 30. When drivers know they have an 80 percent chance of being stopped, driving standards will improve. Now, the chances of being stopped for speeding or any other traffic infringement for that matter, must be less than five percent.

A lot of the crime, burglaries etc., would also be reduced. I seem to remember reading that there have been an enormous number of large flat screen televisions stolen. These cannot be placed in a brown paper bag or carried on a motorbike. If vehicles are stopped, they can be searched and who knows we may even get the drug scene reduced.

How much are the Police motorcycles $15,000 to $20,000 each and the laser speed guns, say $2,000.00 each? Twelve bikes and four laser guns would amount to about $250,000, plus 12 officers' salaries, so we are looking at $1.25 million per year, a small price to pay for saving nine lives already this year.

On top of which the way folks drive around here in Bermuda that money would be recoverable from the fines imposed, and let us make the fines something worthwhile, $1,000 a pop, 50 speeders a week or more so the income would be at least $2.6 million per annum showing one hundred percent profit on investment. Not bad returns!

The most important saving though would be lives saved and less stress on the Emergency crews and hospital who have to deal with it. The solution is simple, why are we not able to take action?

ANTONY SIESE

City of Hamilton

Flatline problems

June 3, 2008

Dear Sir,

Have you ever had a cable box flatline on you before (four dashes show up with no way to delete them)? I find this irritating especially after being able to see cable in the last week before this weekend showed up. I pay $67 a month yet, it's unexplainable why this is suddenly happening. Is there a bad signal at CableVision where cable power to Pembroke becomes discontinued in some homes? Something is definitely wrong with this picture and anybody else having to deal with this problem, besides me needs an explanation and soon because, paying money to cable for a month and not being able to see cable, is a bad combination indeed even if it's just been two days without cable!

ANGRY CUSTOMER

Pembroke

A card of thanks

June 3, 2008

Dear Sir,

I want to take this opportunity to say a sincere 'Thank You' to all of the volunteers who helped make our annual Salvation Army Red Shield Tag Day a success. Even though the weather was far from cooperative you braved the elements and stood outside on behalf of others. But that's the type of people that you are, going above and beyond what is required of you. You see, volunteers really do make a difference. You certainly are the Army behind the Army. Thank you for your help and support and your interest and concern for the needs of others.

MAJOR DOUG LEWIS

Divisional Commander

Bermuda Division

The Salvation Army

Good for Lindos

June 3, 2008

Dear Sir,

I had to write and congratulate Lindo's for doing such a fantastic job at trying to encourage Bermuda's population to be more aware of the environment and become more eco-friendly.

Not only have they been giving away green reusable bags but now, to encourage people to actually bring them back and use them again, when you use them at either store you can write your name and address on the back of your receipt and enter a draw to win a bag of groceries. I never shop anywhere else. Congratulations to Giorgio, Marco, Zach and the rest of the staff. Let's hope the other supermarkets on the Island follow suit.

SHARRON STEWART

Devonshire

How can I be evil?

May 31, 2008

Dear Sir,

In response to Dr. Eva Hodson's recent letter, I have to ask, what exactly do you mean when you say "whites who continue to fail to take responsibility for the sins of their fathers not only fly in the face of reality but in the face of God who has said, "I, the Lord thy God am a Jealous God and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation…"

Do you believe all whites are born evil simply because they are white and are therefore expected to repent for the sins of past generations for the rest of their lives? Do you think that whites like me, who work 50+ hours a week to put food on the table, a roof over the heads of my family, and spend every penny on ensuring my children have an education to allow them to get ahead in this world are somehow evil for wanting to have success for my family?

A CONCERNED BERMUDIAN

Devonshire

Democracy is at stake

May 31, 2008

Dear Sir,

Bermuda! Wake up now – your democracy is at stake! You have a PLP government that is out of control and a so-called Premier who is taking a page right out of Mugabe's book! At this rate, it won't take too long before Ewart Brown completely crosses over the proverbial dictator's line!

You have some immediate and extremely serious democracy issues at stake! So do something about it! The problems are not going to go away on their own ... They are going to get worse! Stand up and be counted! If you keep turning a "blind eye" to all this political scandal and nonsense that is currently taking place, then you have no one but yourselves to blame!

Insist that the UBP boycott Parliamentary sessions and have them fire off a 'Letter of Protest' to Westminster in London. We are thankfully still a British dependency, and the UK must step in and protect our democratic rights! If they can go all the way to the Falkland Islands, then they can surely assist us! Is there a Winston Churchill protégé in the UBP ranks... A man of courage, wisdom and action? Then, let him speak and speak boldly!

BRUCE MCCLARRON

Arizona

(Bermudian-at-Large)

Why my mom is the best

Dear Sir,

My Ma, Debra Hayward, should be the mother of the year. She is smart, beautiful, nice, and kind. My Ma takes me up to my mother's or my daddy's when they are not working. I think that my Ma is the best Ma in the world because my Ma is the one that takes care of me. My Ma is always there for me. She is happy all the time. She gives a smile even when she is sad. My Ma loves me even when I am being bad.

My Ma always thinks about what is the right thing for me and shows me how to make the right choices. Ma is a joyful Christian woman who is fill with love. My Ma works at the Super Mart on Front Street in Hamilton. She works hard so she can take care of me. I really believe that my Ma, Debra Hayward, is the Mother of the Year, every year, for everything that she is to me. My Ma is so beautiful she makes me cry. I love you, Ma!

DIZAI HAYWARD