AS SOMEONE who travels regularly from Weymouth to Dorchester and has frequently stopped to enjoy the facilities at the Engine Room café restaurant I feel qualified to express my opinion regarding the status of the Queen Mother statue in Poundbury.

I have lost count of the number of near misses I have witnessed whilst attempting to negotiate it. Contrary to the DCC statement (with which I strongly disagree) there is no clear indication that you are approaching a roundabout (if indeed that is what it is), the reason being that standard roundabout markings are not present.

I have driven around the statue as though it were roundabout only to find vehicles narrowly missing me as they expect me (on the supposed roundabout) to give way!

The crucial point which the DCC spokesman has missed is that the situation at the statue is AMBIGUOUS and as any experienced driver knows - where there is ambiguity there is DANGER! Because of their vulnerability motorcyclists (I am one) develop an awareness of potentially hazardous road layout as their lives depend on it to be clear.

The statue does not slow down traffic flow - drivers expect this to be done using speed bumps, max speed signs or a combination of the two. Much of the Poundbury street layout appears to be law unto itself, existing outside the Highway Code - I wonder how insurance claims would sit within such a layout?

Andrew Harding

(Experienced motorist and motorcyclist)

Weymouth