Sir.-I would like one last reply to the person now called "Name Withheld".
The vehicle I drive is not a tank or sized like one. It has a four and five-star NCAP rating for crash tests and pedestrian impact (not that I am expecting one) and my vehicle also meets and exceeds the new EU emission targets due in 2005.
It's also more eco-friendly than many conventional cars.
I don't buy a car expecting to hit another. I am considerate, drive to the speed limit and also drive a car that's more economical than my old one (and it's smaller).
The correspondent seems to have totally missed the point. Bad driving is caused by the driver and not by the vehicle. Some of the driving in this town is diabolical, as I have experienced first-hand when we were driven off the road.
I also notice the writer still won't put a name to the letter.
To Mrs H Roche, I don't question your right to drive at the correct speed limit, as I do. I don't see how this relates to my wish to own a 4x4.
-D Arrowsmith, Black Dam, Basingstoke.
Sir.-Driving, 4x4s and disabled car parking have certainly interested your correspondents.
As a car owner, and far from perfect driver, in Basingstoke, I have long come to the sad conclusion that some of us don't mind what happens - so long as every other driver gets off the road and keeps to the rules we invent.
The wealthy seem to want the right to continue to drive their 4x4s irrespective of other drivers, road users or pedestrians.
They also resent the far-too-modest congestion charge of £5 in London. I believe it should be £25 and perhaps the welcomed and newly re-elected Ken Livingstone can increase it and also widen the charging area in London.
It is clear that some people today forget the outcry in The Gazette that follows almost every car accident - or near-accident - in the area, including the A339.
Big and small cars can be weapons just as lethal as guns or knives. They need to be controlled, irrespective of the moans and groans from those motorists who want to drive where they want at the speed they want.
-Joe Robertson, Downsland Road, Basingstoke.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article