Drunk in charge
Sir: As I inadvertently started this correspondence (Letters, 8 December), which has brought forth a large amount of private replies, besides those you published, may I be allowed a few brief com- ments in your columns?
I have received about twenty-five letters addressed to me personally, all without exception warmly supporting me, in contrast to the tart and sometimes abusive letters you have published. It would be interesting to know if you have also re- ceived sympathetic replies but not published them.
The kind suggestions I have received for sub- stitute hobbies range from power-boating and flying to making model ships, and I would like to thank all those who have made helpful com- ments. As for the others, exemplified by Mr Bernard Palmer (Letters, 29 December), there must be some deep-seated psychological reason why they resent passionately anyone possessing a vehicle faster than their own. Why, for instance, should Mr Palmer, driving at 70 m.p.h., become irate if some 'damned fool' passes him, provided the con- ditions are safe, which on motorways is frequently the case? Jealousy, envy, spite perhaps? And how does Mr Palmer account for the fact that (a) the majority of accidents still take place at speeds well below 50 m.p.h. and (b) that recently nearly 300,000 drivers, including some police and mor drivers, presented a petition to Mrs Castle asking her to remove the 70 m.p.h. limit. And that these drivers were by no means confined to owners of fast sports cars?
Other questions I would like to put to Mr Palmer and his like are these. Why is it that apart from one of the Scandinavian countries Britain is the only country in Europe which applies a blanket overall speed limit, instead of selective speed limits on certain roads? Why is it that Germany, for instance, has tried imposing such a limit, found that it did not reduce accidents, and then withdrawn it? During a recent visit to Greece via France and Italy I was impressed by the very high standard of driving compared with this coun- try, and I put this down to the high mobility of traffic, quicker reactions on the part of all drivers, and lack of 'bunching' on fast roads. I hope it will annoy Mr Palmer to know that on the Milan- Rome motorway I was able to average 100 m.p.h. for long stretches in perfect safety (and I was not infrequently passed by faster cars).
The letters published were a representative selection of those received.—Editor, SPECTATOR.
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