IN 1976 when on a degree course (I was 30 years old at the time), I spent my first summer break with the London Metropolitan Motorway Police, for a project. By the end, it became very clear that the practical driving test was definitely not fit for purpose. At the end, I wrote a report about my findings and recommended, then, that simulators, should be the first step before driving a vehicle, as different driving conditions can be tried, without harming anyone. I also recommended that regular testing should be compulsory either at three or five year intervals after a driver has reached the state pension age. Now that simulators are so good, they are even more relevant to road safety. Being with advanced police drivers made me realise what a 'poor' driver I was, and I am sure that changes I made, particularly with regard to observation, saved me from death, or at minimum, life changing injuries.

In the late 90s I took my driving test again, approximately 30 years after the first time, due to a strange error on my driving licence. I could not believe how easy and unchanged it was. I am not surprised that so many deaths and life changing injuries occur each year; yet nothing is done. Could it be that our political masters feel that they would lose votes? The addition of a theory test does not make a person a better driver, as those who continually fail the practical prove. After four consecutive practical test failures, I think a person’s unsuitability to drive has been categorically proven.

It would be helpful if the penalties for drink and drug driving or driving uninsured or without a licence acted as deterrents.

It is time that individuals are taught that they are responsible for their actions and that NO ONE ELSE IS, as seems to be the current trend.

Alan Lindley

Sparacre Gardens

Bridport