LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

DRIVING LAWS

I RECOMMEND a change of driver licence laws be introduced.

Currently, licenced drivers reaching 70 years of age, are required to provide a doctors health check, including eye test, annually.

It’s at this point I’m advocating a driving test be mandatory at age 70, then also at 80 years.

My reasons for this suggestion, is that for the past two years, I have been voluntary Mentoring young applicants, gaining experience in driving, and achieving their learners 100 hours, at the Toowoomba PCYC, Breaking The Cycle program.

This is proving to most successful, with huge positive results.

In my time doing this with mainly youthful drivers, I have witnessed on many occasions of poor driving skills, by numerous elderly drivers, who, in my opinion have many defective habits, in handling a vehicle in car Parks, and on City, Urban, Highway & Country roads.

Surely such intervention in protecting the public, & their own ageing life, will expose numerous Drivers, who in fact, should not be driving. Education in gaining & maintaining the privilege to have a Drivers Licence, must be reviewed in all road users, once reaching 70. We don’t need any accidents causing loss of life.

Let’s do it.

IAN GUNTHER, Toowoomba

ABC CRITICISM

I AM tired of the constant criticism of the ABC coming from the current Federal Government and the press.

This criticism is often petty in nature and seems intent on weakening and discrediting the ABC.

We moved to Australia when we retired 23 years ago.

When friends and relatives asked me what I liked about Australia, I put TV and radio, represented by ABC and SBS, at the top of the list.

We have lived in and travelled to many countries and I was always telling people that Australia had the best radio and TV in the world (again I was talking about ABC and SBS). Sadly this is no longer the case. Numerous budget cuts and staff layoffs (600 since 2013) have cut into the quality.

The ABC radio’s World Today and PM have been cut from one hour to 30 minutes, Lateline has been removed from ABC TV.

Fact Check has been scrapped (why would they want to do that?) and the entire specialist science team has been sacked; this was the only one of its kind in Australia.

Dateline from SBS has been cut to 30 minutes and no longer seems to have such cutting edge content as it used to have. And there seems to be a certain dumbing down.

Unlike some of the ABC’s critics, I spend a lot of time reading about current affairs in various newspapers and magazines from both Australia and overseas, and I consider the ABC objective.

The ABC is something that Australia can be justifiably proud of. If that’s gone, what’s left?

MARY PETR, Toowoomba

BYPASS

INTERESTED to know everyone refers to this wonderful new road, which will divert the non Toowoomba traffic away from the heart of our city, as TSRC - The Second Range Crossing.

For one thing it is not the second, I would say it is number five. Three currently being used, Murphys Creek, Flagstone Creek. I guess the Old Toll Bar Rd is obsolete now. Looking forward next year to the completion of the great Toowoomba By-pass.

A. CROMPTON, Rangeville