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PREJUDICE NOT FACT
Page 20
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I refer to the Welsh attack on the Irish ( CM18-24 July).
I drive an Irish-registered truck for an Irish company. I think that prospective Welsh Assembly member Brynle Williams has really come out in his true colours in the manner in which he makes his allegations against Irish truckers.
He is apparently saying that, because he formed the subjective impression that two (out of hundreds) of Irish trucks seemed to be speeding; and because he thoughtthat no prosecution resulted in an assumed investigation, (do the police really provide him with information which is normally confidential?) then all Irish truckers regularly break the law!
Let me provide the following information. While in the bar of a truckstop one evening I witnessed two male, apparently heterosexual, British truck drivers getting rather loudmouthed after a few drinks and boasting of law breaking. It therefore follows from this that all male heterosexual British truck drivers regularly break the law and should be a) pulled by the police for investigation at least once a day and b) have a curfew imposed on them so that they have to be in the cabs after say, 18:00hrs every night.
Now no one would accept such an absurd feat of logic' from me—why therefore accept Brynle Williams' rather prejudiced opinions as newsworthy? Actually the perceptions of Irish truckers I work with are that Irish trucks tend to be picked on for spot checks rather the other way around.
It might be that the same proportion of Irish truckers break the law as British truckers. This seems to be far more likely and until there is evidence to the contrary I don't think allegations of excessive law breaking should be published as if they could be facts.
Rachel Webb (who drives an Irish truck), Einghton.