Another tragic death on the roads and the ‘we know what's needed’ brigade leap into action yet again telling the rest of us that a lower speed limit is the simple answer!

How many times have we seen that in print over the last couple of months. Does anyone really believe the answer is that simple?

A resident of Bere Regis (Dorset Echo, Monday, May 18) is happy to go on record (and into print) to say that the speed limit along that particular stretch of road should be reduced because of the tragic fatal crash that happened there.

How many tens of thousands of vehicles have driven along that very same section of road over the last few years and NOT crashed? Does that not tell you there is nothing inherently wrong with the road?

Would it not be prudent to wait until the police have carried out their investigation into what actually caused this crash before pontificating on what should be done?

It may well be that speed was a contributory factor in this case, but equally it may not have been.

I don't know and I am equally certain that you do not know either.

He states that the number of road deaths in the last few weeks should tell the council something.

The only thing it tells me as a driver is that the standard of driving in Dorset is simply not good enough.

I will now ask a question. When was the last time anyone reading this letter did anything at all to update or improve their driving skills?

I have written before (as an ex traffic cop in Dorset) on the subject of the causes of crashes, the last time in response to a similar "knee jerk" statement from Annette Brook who suggested that double white lines be installed all the way from Bere Regis to the Bakers Arms roundabout.

I will reiterate what I have said in the past. Roads themselves do not cause crashes, drivers cause crashes.

My use of the word crash is very deliberate, using the word accident suggests it was nobody's fault.

Road crashes are very rarely ‘accidents’, they are almost invariably caused by driver error, usually because they are not paying sufficient attention to the task in hand, that of being the sole person in charge of a piece of machinery weighing well over a tonne that can kill!!

I have attended many inquests into deaths caused on Dorset roads. I cannot recall a single one where the coroner has said that ‘the road’ or ‘the council’ or ‘the speed limit’ was the cause of the crash.

Stop blaming the council for road crashes! They cannot prevent bad driving or inattention can they?

It’s like blaming the staff at DCH for diagnosing someone with a broken leg. Hardly fair is it?

Wake up residents of Dorset, the lives of other people are in your hands when driving around.

I remember only too well what I was told on the very first day of my very first (of many) police driving courses: ‘If you have a crash when moving it’s your fault, if you have one when stationary it might not be your fault. If you drive defensively and pay attention you will see problems developing and have enough time to react and prevent a collision’.

It has worked for me over the last 30 years that I have been collision (not accident) free.

Mr Plodd, name and address supplied