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hav been a heavy lorry driver tr o er 30 years, from tippers ta kers and general haulage.
H re are a few points I would ce ti make to you.
I m sorry to say lorry drivers tda are the scum of the road. -ley have the biggest vehicles t e road and they let every :he road user know it. They
t o fast, they are ignorant id Ifish.
I ay this: if these drivers -ea the law, don't fine them, isp nd them — take their ..:en es off them. That hits them lore They are supposed to be rofe sionals — let them behave (e ofessionals.
Al .o I would like to say a few tin s about tachographs. It oul be the best law passed in is ountry. Drivers who are Dne t don't mind them, it's the awsoys and dishonest transart operators who encourage leir *rivers to break the law for tor:. profits, and there are an of them. You must know a w, rid if you want to know
ly ore, drop me a line. I'll )on ell you dozens of others. A a driver of 30 years' and ng, I say this: tachographs ouli give this industry some and ng. All the time you use ooks, drivers will fiddle tem and escape the laws. Lorry Nne s will encourage them to D SO
1 have friends on the big atro eum companies who tell le their companies are encou'ging them to work to a system job and finish, encouraging leir drivers who drive 6,300 311ons of petrol at dangerous aeeds. Has everybody gone lad?
Years ago we never had the :-,cidents with lorries that we ave today, and don't say there -e more vehicles — I know iere are. I also know lorries are lore efficient in braking and yery other way.
It's not the lorries or all the ther vehicles, it's the horrible men young big-headed know-all selfish so-called lorry rivers of today. I am ashamed ) be associated with them.
And don't forget the horrible reedy companies who encouige them. 1 say bring in tachoraphs. if you're honest, it will alp honest drivers and honest ampanies. The only people .ho con't want them are greedy rid dishonest drivers and ivne-s.
I could write a book on this subject of transport. I don't think that all drivers are dishonest — they are not, they are hardworking and honest, but there are a hell of a lot of crooks and crooked operators hiding behind the honest ones.
HARRY COBURN, Slade Green, Erith, Kent
As a regular reader of CM I was interested to see the article by Noel Millier (July 7) saying "Motorway drivers must 'give and take'."
I have spent several years driving a heavy goods vehicle, and in fact have had some considerable success in your LDoY competition in the Sixties. I. am now a director of this company and am responsible for the running of some 26 tanker vehicles, and although all my present motoring of some 45,000 miles per year is done in a motor car, I think I am in a position to give an opinion of what seems to me to be a biased article in favour of truck drivers.
I agree with many of the comments, such as car drivers hogging the middle lane at approximately 50 miles per hour, when a truck driver can easily exceed that speed. Truck drivers are also guilty of this at times when moving in excess of this speed, with the nearside lane empty for long distances.
No comment was made of probably the most dangerous manoeuvre of all on the motorway, which is pulling out to overtake. How often do we find ourselves in the position of driving along the middle lane of a motorway at approximately 70 mph overtaking a procession of commercial vehicles, when suddenly a truck starts to move out?
Sometimes an indication is made, sometimes not, but no matter, because invariably he is coming out whether you like it or not, and the car driver is forced to take avoiding action.
Being on the committee of a road safety motor club, I always try to train myself to think ahead for such driving habits as this and move out before the truck driver has decided. But can this be one of the reasons why we see so many car drivers sitting in the outside lane of a motorway for most of their journey? I wonder!
Please do not think I am criticising this article; I offer my comments as constructive criticism, for it appeared to me that most truck drivers (and there are still a lot of good ones among them) reading this article would think "About time someone told them car drivers a thing or two," when really we should all practise the art of defensive driving as defined in Roadcra ft.
J. C. KENDRICK, Director, P. D. C. Fuels (Cymru) Ltd, Mold, Clwyd.
I was very pleased to see the Hawk's mention of the Leeds and District Steam Rally, but would like you to point out to your readers who live in the South and don't wish to travel North, or can't wait till August 26-28 that they could visit Knowl Hill (between Reading and Maidenhead) Steam Rally on August 12-13. This is a similar show to the Northern one with fifty steam engines on show but of special interest to road transport men will be the display of vintage commercials, including Sentinel, Foden and Garrett steam wagons, a 1928 Albion, 1918 Fiat, 1928 Dennis, 1919 Thornycroft, 1 91 7 Leyland, 1911 LACRE, several Model Ts, to mention but a few of the exhibits in this interesting display. JOHN KEELEY, Know! Hill, Reading, Berks.,