LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30944, 28 December 1965, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

(1) Letters sent to the Editor for printing should preferably be typed, otherwise they must be written in Ink on one side of the paper only. A legible signature and full address are required whether these are to be published or not. A P.O. box number ts not a sufficient address. (2) Writers must say clearly whether or not their letters are being or have been sent to other papers. (3) The Editor cannot return or keep any letter which for any reason is unsuitable for printing: nor can he acknowledge unsuitable letters although this will be done where it seems to be needful, or enter Into any correspondence. (4) Letters must not be of more than 150 words.

Speed Limits Sir,—l have some sympathy with the Englishman's determination to defend what he regards as bis rights; but I feel that he has lost his sense of proportion since relating those rights to his ownership of a motor-car. The protests against parking meters in Britain were violent to the point of hysteria. The poor old London “Bobby,” once the friend of every honest man, is now reviled as the persecutor of the motorist. Never have I heard such specious nonsense as that adduced by presumably responsible persons and organisations to defend the God-given right of the motorist to travel at 140 miles an hour if his car is capable of it. The striking reduction in the Christinas road toll under the “iniquitous” and “dangerous” 70-m.p.h. speed limit was what rational people should have expected. New Zealand authorities please note! —Yours, etc., COMMON SENSE December 27, 1965.

The Road Toll Sir, —I know that our traffic enforcement staffs are not unlimited and that they have a tremendous task in trying to cover the miles of streets 24 hours a day. I also know that in the small hours of the morning, when patrols are at a minimum or are non-exist-ent, some drivers relax all .e--straint and probably aT. normal care as well. It might be a useful study to find out how many single-vehicle accidents —cars hitting posts, failing to take a bend, etc.—occur in the small hours when the streets are without supervision. The answer to the road toll is surely more inspectors (round the clock!) and heavier penalties for offences involving recklessness.—Ytuts, etc., M.L.P. December 24, 1965.