I WISH to express my feelings about the police's attitude towards the motorist.

"Speed kills," we are all constantly reminded. But suggest that to the pilot of Concord, the drivers of the 200 mph trains in Japan, or the holder of the world land speed record.

Speed on its own does not kill, speed accompanied by bad judgement, human error, or malfunction most probably will kill. Technology has come a long way, from the four mph speed limit and a man waving a red flag, to cars built by computer, ABS brakes, traction control, servo disc brakes, pneumatic state-of-the-art tyres . . . the list is endless.

Yes, accidents will happen, but with all the innovations built into cars and accident prevention built into our roads, I think we have made great efforts to protect ourselves from such accidents.

This is why I feel the police are too strict with the everyday motorist. Yes, if the speed limit is 30 mph and a motorist is exceeding this limit then, by using sound judgement, punish accordingly. A friend of mine, after finishing work at 3am, was recently stopped for doing 41 mph in a 30 mph limit. This, I feel, is taking things to extremes. If the time was 3pm, when other traffic and pedestrians are about, then punish him.

The cyclist has been treated as a priority but why do the police not take action against cyclists who, when approaching traffic lights or crossroads, "bump" on to the pavement to avoid the red light? I see this often, so why don't the police?

One final comment about the chief constable who thinks there should be "zero tolerance" towards speeding motorists. Why not then use the same logic towards other, more serious crime?

The Bury Times recently reported on a shoplifter who had been in front of the magistrates 108 times. Clearly the punishment is not working because he had been given 107 chances to stop breaking the law. Sadly the motorist is not being given any chances with the current near "zero tolerance" attitude.

GRAHAM SMITH,

Vale Avenue, Bury.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.