Death on the road.
Sir: With reference to Professor Vaizey's article (June 16) on the Courts' attitude to dangerous driving, on the, BBC World Service it was stated that as soon as a person passes a driving test he changes from a careful driver into a maniac driver. It is therefore not surprising that the Courts regard dangerous and reckless driving with levity, for to do otherwise would cast serious doubt on the value of the test and possibly arouse sleeping dogs. Instead, the Government has put the seal of approval on reckless driving with its ' Clunk-clink ' commercial whose message is that dangerous driving is quite permissible provided one wears a seat-belt.
Testing and re-testing of drivers will not reduce accidents or maniac driving on the motorways. The police have
frequently said that passing the test gives a driver a false sense of competence, so that a driving licence be. comes a licence to commit murder. In the case of certain classes of people, such as doctors, driving examiners and others whom the courts are loathe to convict, a driving licence is indeed a licence to commit murder.
What does the test consist of anyWay? Driving backwards up a narrow alley, three point turns and starting on a hill. How much of a driver's time is consumed in driving backwards up alleys, turning completely around or starting on steep hills? If lorries were not so grossly overloaded that they have to crawl up hills at a snail's pace, and sometimes rolling back down When the gear-box breaks, it would not be necessary for drivers to stop and start on hills in the first place.
A. J. H. Brown 46 Merryton Avenue, Giffnock, Glasgow
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