Sir

I agree with the opinion expressed by B.Dimmick in the letter `driven to distraction' featured 31/8/87. I am one of the drivers Mr Dimmick is refering to.

I drive a sports-car capable of easily exceeding the national speed limit and have been fined for that on several occasions. However I agree with the opinion expressed: that Canberra drivers in general (myself included) are appalling.

Many times I have left the road to avoid people turning into the stream of traffic. Often I am frightened by the ignorance of adequate stopping distances exhibited by most Canberra drivers. Strings of cars following 2 or 3 metres behind one another at 60 to 80 KMH are the single major cause of multi-car accidents in the A.C.T. N.S.W. license tests recommend a minimum of two seconds distance between cars in dry road conditions, 4 seconds for wet or dark conditions. 2 seconds equates to 40 metres at 80 KMH, this allows for both reaction time and stopping distance.

Canberra Drivers have a serious ego problem. Regularly I see people in family cars `dragging' each other for positions in a merging lane. Drivers seem unaware that the right hand lane on dual carriageways is for overtaking. Slow traffic refusing to move into the left lane raises the temper of drivers trying to overtake. Even if those drivers are exceeding the speed limit it is not the ordinary motorists job to slow them down, that's up to the A.F.P. Traffic Branch.

Another thing seen on Canberra roads is people swapping lanes to be at the front of traffic queues. This causes other drivers to swerve or brake suddenly.

Drivers who cannot control their aggressive tendencies whilst in a machine capable of killing people should not be given licenses. These driving faults are expressions of aggression and lack of education. Mr Dimmick is right when he says people do not know they are bad drivers - they have never been taught any better.

I do not claim to be the safest driver in the A.C.T. but I recognise my faults and try to correct them. I wish others would recognise their own driving deficiencies, then perhaps driving would be more enjoyable and not the cause of so many premature deaths and wasted lives.

M.F.CAIRNS

CURTIN