IT was reassuring to read that Sergeant Greenwood of Bury Traffic Unit has issued the promise "we will catch those who speed".

However, I fear it is an initiative which offers no more than the limited success that resulted from the introduction of the breath test, as drink-driving remains a widespread problem which destroys thousands of lives every year.

Unless attitudes to driving change and the government is prepared to recognise the fundamental wrongs in the system, we will still be counting the cost well into the next century.

Maybe if the message that "speed kills" was promoted equally by bodies such as the church, hospitals and schools, as well as the police, society might be more willing to recognise the importance of respecting speed limits.

Drivers would then be more tolerant of the measures specifically aimed at saving lives, rather than be angered and resentful of what they believe to be a means for the police to raise money.

The excuse offered to the courts, that the driver did not mean to kill anyone, is a poor one. It should be recognised that lack of respect for the vital safety measures specifically designed to protect life on our roads, is in reality a lack of respect for the lives of others.

It may not warrant a life in prison, but it should certainly warrant a life without a driving licence.

ALLAN RAMSAY,

Waterlane Street,

Radcliffe.

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