Lorry poll was 'appalling'
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SURPRISINGLY for Commercial Motor, John Durant's description of the press conference which launched the Marplan poll on lorries was as inaccurate as his description of the poll results themselves.
Despite his assertion, Transport 2000 was not present at the press conference. We were not invited, though if we had been no doubt we would have exposed the shortcomings of the poll even more clearly than actually happened.
Two points only will se,-k.e to show how appalling the si
was. Respondents were asi U to compare the seriousness of "lorry traffic" with violence and vandalism, drug addiction and alcoholism. This is rather like asking if it is worse to knock down an old lady on a pedestrian crossing or slap your little boy if he has been naughty and then using the obvious result as a charter for baby-bashing.
Secondly, the result of one question was not announced. This asked whether lorry weights should be increased, remain the same or be reduced. Given the poll's already poor record for objectivity, this omission is perhaps not surprising as 42 per cent voted for reducing weights, 45 per cent for keeping them the same, 7 per cent didn't know and only 6 per cent supported increasing lorry wejghts. NICK LESTER Director, Transport 2000