Every time there is a fatal accident the blame is put on "dangerous roads" (The Argus, April 25).
I was taught by an RAC instructor and took part in a police driving school. Until I gave up recently due to arthritis, I had enjoyed an accident-free 50 years of driving.
I was told "there are no such things as dangerous roads, only dangerous drivers". How else can you explain the daily reports of drivers who crash into trees and houses with no other vehicles involved?
Yesterday I stood on a corner of the Old Steine and observed drivers' cornering techniques. Hardly any employed the "let the steering wheel shuffle through your hands keeping them in the ten past two position" technique I was taught.
Instead, drivers cornered with both hands on the same side of the steering wheel, or even with just one hand on the wheel. I saw several drivers driving one-handed while using mobile phones, drivers eating sandwiches and so on.
On TV you regularly see drivers who take their eyes off the road ahead to look at their passengers when speaking to them. In reality the car would be being driven virtually blind for those few seconds.
One TV advert shows people in a car taking part in a sing-song with the driver. Drivers light up cigarettes and operate their music systems, driving with music pounding out at maximum decibels, which must surely affect their concentration.
Add all these things up, along with drivers committing simple errors such as driving too close to the vehicle in front and breaking the speed limit, and is it any wonder accidents occur?
The one thing that might bring about a more responsible attitude - the removal of one's licence for such behaviour - is only rarely carried out. The car is seen as king.
With no effective sanctions and very little in the way of enforcement, the carnage will only get worse.
- Paul Butler, Arundel Terrace, Brighton
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