Friday’s scribes discuss modern drivers’ safety, Perth’s reaction to the snow, Royal Mail’s handling charges and the flooding in Queensland.
Car drivers should learn skills on two wheels Sir,-How refreshing it was to read the comments on responsible driving from your correspondents, 79-year-old James Thomson on making progress and defensive driving and that from 71-year-old Keith Bennetto on understanding micro climates.
I calculate that if both these gentlemen started driving at the age of 17, that would be in 1947 and 1956 respectively, while I myself took to the road, on four wheels, in 1965.
The one thing we have in common is gaining our driving experience in cars with few driver aids.
Power steering was found on only the most luxurious of cars and the advantage of not having this aid was gaining an immediate feel of what was happening between the tyres and the road when surface conditions changed, generally because the steering was quite heavy under normal road conditions.
An understanding of, and respect for, the road conditions, is probably the biggest contribution to road safety that any driver can make.
Back in the 1960s, when I took to two wheels, John Surtees, the only person to have won world championships on both two and four wheels, summed it up when he said that if every driver rode a motorbike for 12 months, they would become a better driver.
This, of course, is not always practical but his sentiments are more relevant now than then.
Tom Thomson.Westward House,10 Birkhill Road,Stirling.
Perth showed way on weather
Sir,-Reading about the piles of uncollected rubbish lying in streets in London, Exeter and Birmingham and so on, I realised how much better our bin collections have been in the Fair City of Perth, despite the roads and weather problems of recent weeks.
Also, thanks are due to Stagecoach drivers and other staff for maintaining services as far as was possible in recent hazardous conditions, and especially for the number seven route, where ingenuity and determination kept the service going.
(Mrs) Isabel Wardrop.111 Viewlands Road West,Perth.
Plan for oil-free future
Sir,-Your article about the increases in fuel prices and the impact on ordinary drivers and many businesses seemed to be missing any comment about whether this was a temporary issue or whether high fuel prices are here to stay.
Obviously, government has a major influence on the price by setting the tax levels but, even if there was no tax, it is difficult to see a future with lower fuel prices.
Oil is a finite resource and there is increased demand from countries such as China and India.
It would be reassuring to think that government and business leaders were putting in place plans for a future with limited or no oil.
However, all the signs are that this is a case of ignoring a problem and hoping it will go away.
Campaigners request bigger and wider roads, the A9 and the new Forth road bridge being examples, without even a mention of future fuel supplies.
Almost the whole of our transport system and our food supplies currently depend on oil, so it is time there was some public consultation and planning for a future without it.
Robert Potter.16R Brown Street,Dundee.
Festive spirit posted missing
Sir,-The other day I received a card from the Royal Mail and could hardly believe what I was reading.
It said that the sender of my item did not pay the full postage, therefore, a handling fee of £1.10 was to be paid by me before I could receive the said item.
I thought this to be quite ironic as they seem to have forgotten the fact that most users of Royal Mail have probably put a first-class stamp on their letters, expecting them to be delivered on time before Christmas.
Instead, we of DD4 and others, are still receiving cards and it is now into 2011.
I would have thought that under the present circumstances they could have remembered the festive spirit of goodwill and waived the handling charge.
Come on Royal Mail, try to get some Brownie points with mail users.
John Shaw.8 Rescobie Avenue,Dundee.
Dundee flood risk
Sir,-I write with sincere sympathy for the plight of the people of Queensland and their flood problems but feel that this should be a wake-up call for us here as well.
Remember the devastation in Perth and other parts of Scotland when rivers burst their banks only a few years ago?
An uncle of mine, who was raised on horseback on sheep farming stations in Queensland in the 1920s and 30s before returning to farm in Wigtownshire, used to show me amazing black and white photographs of rivers regularly flooding to devastating effect to livestock on a regular basis all over Queensland.
The president of Queensland stated that this flood is a one in perhaps 50 or 100 years incident.
Designers today allow for these possibilities when meeting surface water and roof drainage requirements but have Australian planning authorities, like ours here, allowed developers to sell property on flood plains which are at risk without thought of the consequences?
Here in Dundee, we should not be complacent as you only have to look at developments that have sprung up along the Dighty Burn flood plain with the full approval of our planning department.
If a one-in-100-years storm hits that area, who will accept responsibility?
Denis G. W. Thornton.20 Colliston Drive,Broughty Ferry.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.