Letters of the week, December 14
The issues that got you talking this week
A bridge toll too far
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford was opened in 1991 and a 20-year contract placed with the Dartford River Crossing company to collect toll money to pay for its construction (“Free of charge”, Points, last week).
Full payment was reached in April 2003, at which time the bridge should have become free to use. It didn’t happen, and then in 2009 the crossing became part of Labour’s planned fire sale of public assets to raise £16bn.
It is time to scrap this charge.
Ivor Hall, London NW11
Style counsel
Jeremy Clarkson is right to admire the simple styling of the 1960s Jensen (“Grrrrrr: it’s the only thing fiercer than the tiger in Life of Pi”, last week). Its lines are horizontal and it lacks the ugly, sloping grooves on the sides of most modern cars, which destroy the visual balance of a vehicle and give the impression that its nose is dipping towards the road under heavy braking. Which car designer will be the first to abandon these tiresome clichés?
Michael Evans, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
Saddle sore
Sorry, cyclists, but it’s high time you were regulated. I suggest a registration of the riders, not the bicycle, so they can be properly identified, plus spot checks for roadworthiness and mandatory wearing of approved helmets.
’Topher Davis, Welwyn, Hertfordshire
On the limit
What would happen if, as a resident in England, you were breathalysed in Scotland with a reading of 60 milligrams — illegal there but not south of the border? Would a ban imposed in Scotland apply throughout the UK?
Gary Parker, Halifax
Lost highway
Your correspondent Robert Bastin drives more economically in France but this benefit will never be duplicated in the UK, however hard the Highways Agency works (“French toast”, Points, November 30). France has more than double our space and its motorways are underused because of the tolls, so much less time is spent festering in queues.
Tim Burnham, Ticehurst, East Sussex
Walking distance
I was surprised that in reply to last week’s Car Clinic correspondent, who stated that their typical car journeys were about a mile, you didn’t gently suggest they could maybe consider buying a bicycle, or even try walking. No wonder we have an obesity epidemic.
Chris Day, Yarnton, Oxfordshire
Editor’s note: good question. Comments please
