LINDA Preston (Letters, December 8 and 19), complains about older drivers and thinks they are more likely to cause accidents than younger, faster drivers.

Reading the Lancashire Evening Telegraph six nights a week for some 16 years, I have seen increasing numbers of young drivers who have been killed or injured in accidents -- accidents where only one vehicle was involved -- with no older drivers anywhere near.

Those being inexperienced drivers of the 18-28 age group who had lost control on a bend or run into a wall, a lamp post or a tree.

There are several reasons why a driver loses control of the vehicle.

First, is that the driver was going too fast to take the bend.

Another is failure to pay attention to their driving -- driving with arms waving about and heads constantly turning to talk to passengers.

With so much traffic on the roads today, a slower and more careful driver is much less likely to be the cause of an accident, despite what Linda might think.

ALBERT MORRIS, Clement View, Nelson.