"Permanent loss of a driving licence for motorists who kill a horse and or rider, cyclist or pedestrian, should be mandatory"

Says Maureen Comber

It is a shame that no mention was made of the fact that our minor country lanes i.e the ones without a white line in the middle, are subject to the national speed limit of 60 mph.

Could we hope that these roads might be prioritised for non motorised users such as walkers, cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users, and a general speed limit of 30mph be applied? That is the speed at which impact might be survivable.

It may be said that the geography of the road dictates the speed, but for that to be the case one would have to be able to see around corners. Or that the speed limit cannot be policed. Well neither is the present 60mph, so 30mph would be preferable. In fact given that these minor roads are so narrow with no footway rather makes a mockery of 30 or 40mph on many of the major roads which are much wider and have pavements!

People need to perceive that what they are doing is reasonably safe, but the accident figures show that in this case they are anything but.

At a time when we are all being encouraged to exercise and enjoy our countryside, surely the application of an appropriate speedLimit would encourage:

• Children to walk and cycle to school
• Discourage obesity
• Save road maintenance on the minor roads, since motorists may decide to avoid them.
• Save road kill.
• Reduce the toxic emissions from vehicles in the countryside.

It just seems wrong to me that vulnerable road users are being encouraged to use roads on which they cannot feel safe.

Permanent loss of a driving licence for motorists who kill a horse and or rider, cyclist or pedestrian, should be mandatory and would ensure that they drove more carefully on the minor country lanes.

Whatever happened to the 'Quiet Lane Schemes' around the villages I wonder? Surely a village with a 30 or 40mph limit could have the de-restriction signs on the adjoining lane, at the the first junction of a higher status road, rather than a few yards from the main road with the speed limit?

With so much being done for walking and cycling it feels as if horse riders are being discriminated against at best, or ignored completely!