REGARDING your story 'Shaken in bed by traffic vibration at roundabout' (LET, May 30), I take particular exception to Ian Richardson, Hyndburn Council traffic and transportation engineer, saying that the height of the roundabout dome had been minimised to cater for lorries overriding it.

Mr Richardson should know that it is not for him to either give permission, or make provision, for any vehicle to break the law by going over the top of these roundabouts when a mandatory sign put there by the council instructs all vehicles that they must go around the roundabout.

Some may think this to be a trivial point, but these inappropriate signs are among other traffic-calming measures which represent inconsistency and bad law and make these mandatory blue circle signs the possible source of discrimination. Hardly fair, is it, that the police may pull up a car driver or motor cyclist for failing to go around a mini-roundabout and issue a fixed penalty ticket.

Meanwhile, lorries and buses are thundering past and bouncing over the top of the same roundabout - with impunity. Yet, because the road is so narrow they have to.

This situation is duplicated in dozens of locations all over Hyndburn.

Many aspects of these so-called traffic-calming measures are ill thought-out, potentially dangerous, hypocritical and fail to address the real problem - reckless, careless or dangerous driving.

All that has been adopted by the council is a policy of the lowest common denominator - all responsible road users punished because of the irresponsible few.

It's time to go back to the drawing board in relation to traffic calming and to address the real issues - the lack of driver education coupled with a firm law and order policy - including cameras.

ADRIAN SHURMER (Mr), (retired police driving instructor), Lyndon Avenue, Great Harwood.

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