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Letters - 05 May 2009
Bus passenger shaken by abuse
I witnessed a bus driver in Dundee verbally abuse and threaten a lady passenger.

He missed her at a bus stop and stopped a hundred yards up the road to allow her to get on.

Boarding a bus, she thanked him for stopping, but the tirade of abuse she received was appalling.

He was shouting and pointing his finger at her, she asked him to stop pointing and went and took her seat. The bus moved on to the next stop.

He then got out of the cab (the lady was reading her paper by this point) and approached her again. He was aggressive, pointing at her face, shouting and looming over her when she was sitting down.

Among other things, he called her a liar when she said she was waiting at the stop (which she was).

I take my hat off to her as she was obviously shaken but remained very calm, never as much raised her voice and asked him why he was being so confrontational.

The lady asked if she wasn’t waiting at the stop why he had stopped to let her on, again she was shouted down.

The whole thing was totally uncalled for and unacceptable.

The fact he had driven on and felt the need to confront her to carry out this attack was particularly disturbing. She repeatedly asked him not to talk to her like that, but it made no difference.

I really hope this lady has made a complaint. This type of behaviour has to be stopped.

The CCTV camera is there to protect drivers, but I hope in this case they will be used to protect passengers.

If this had happened to me I would have called the police from the bus. — Disgusted.

Drivers must have lane discipline

Traffic lights at Claypotts junction.

Drivers need to be more aware when they are travelling along the Arbroath Road at the Claypotts junction, heading into Dundee.

The other day I was heading along this road and drove correctly into the lane to head for the city centre. A car to my left was in the lane to turn left to head into Broughty Ferry.

However when the lights changed to green, the driver went straight ahead instead of taking the left and as a result nearly caused an accident.

I had to slam on my brakes to let him in ahead of me, causing several cars behind me to do the same.

The only good thing was that this happened as we were taking off from stationary after waiting for the lights to change.

If the driver had done this at speed, it could have been very nasty.

I urge people to make sure they are in the correct lane. Lane discipline is one of the fundamentals of the driving test. — Careful Driver.

Living in state of fear
I am a Dundee City Council tenant and have been having problems with repeated vandalism.

I work near my home and believe people are aware of this and are looking out for me before making a move on my property.

In the past 18 months, I have had the windows of my car smashed several times, culminating in being awakened on Sunday morning at 5am to find every window on my car smashed and the bonnet damaged with an axe.

My house has also been broken into, and on two occasions I have had someone look into my place of employment to see if I was working, and followed them down to my house to find them attempting to gain entry.

I am living in a state of fear at this address now. — Scared.

Not working?
When President Obama promised things would change under his presidency, one of the things uppermost in his mind was a new direction on US foreign policy.

Sadly, his offers of olive branches have been trampled underfoot.

Despite these setbacks, Obama’s poll ratings remain high. The domestic agenda is a distraction.

However, he can expect no mercy from those who previously warned him and who now happily crow, “We told you so, Mr President”. — Observer, Dundee.

Sentence too short
I read with interest about James Simpson’s sentence being almost doubled.

James, from Dundee, was found guilty of culpable homicide.

He was initially given four years, but this was increased to seven years on appeal.

What makes me despair is that we are now considering seven years for taking life as justice. Had the sentence been 15 years it still wouldn’t have been enough.

In this particular instance the victim had his skull repeatedly kicked.

How this can be deemed anything other than murder is beyond me.

What is always forgotten is that in a few years he will be back on the streets.

Will we ever have judges who make the sentence fit the crime? — S. Anderson, High Street, Lochee.

Scott Fyffe circle
I ’ve seen many letters in the Tele lately complaining about the lane markings on the Douglas Road approach to the roundabout and wonder if it will be changed, or will we just have to get used to it?

At peak traffic times, the queue on that approach now extends way beyond the Douglas/Milton roundabout and almost as far as the Happyhillock roundabout beyond that. — Dundee Driver.

Council chief pay shock
I see the Chief Executive’s job at Dundee City Council is being advertised. I cannot believe the wages the council is offering, over £132,000, especially with the recession going on.

I think this would be a good time for the new administration to start looking at just what has been going on and start making changes.

The wage on offer is more than the Prime Minister gets for running the country. Something is wrong here. — Something Not Right.

NHS dentist
I was surprised to read a Tele letter regarding people not being able to find an NHS dental practise. I work in a practice called Waterside Dental Care down at the City Quay, Dundee. We have been taking on new patients from 2007.

If you would like to join, please call on 01382 322347 to make an appointment as an NHS patient. — Dental Nurse.

Marathon place
Following on from the recent articles regarding the cancelled Dundee half-marathon, the Yusef Abubaker Memorial Trust has one charity place left for the Edinburgh marathon on May 31, 2009.

The closing date for places is May 8. Contact me on info@yusefbubaker.org.uk or telephone 07511 877878. — Alison Abubaker, Remembering Yusef.

THE ADDRESS for readers’ letters is - Readers’ Page, Evening Telegraph, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. They can also be placed in our post box at our offices in Albert Square, Dundee, emailed to us on letters@eveningtelegraph.co.uk or faxed on 01382 454590. We ask correspondents using a nom-de-plume or sending by e-mail to provide a name and address for reference purposes. The editor reserves the right to reject or edit any letter. Please keep letters as short as possible.*
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