STRONGER SENTENCES

TWO pages in the Observer about road safety (October 2) and the people in authority councillors and so called road safety experts whose only way to solve the problem of boy racers is to reduce speed limits on roads.

Each week we see complaints about boy racers in Hyndburn on, Hyndburn road, Burnley road, Blackburn road, Fielding Lane just to mention a few.

Reducing speeds on roads from 50mph to 30mph is just an imposition on law abiding drivers.

Boy racers don’t obey the speed signs no matter what they are.

So reducing speed limits won’t do anything to stop these boy racers.

Yes, we could do with more speed cameras to catch these culprits.

We’ve reduced speeds on side streets to 20mph, we have certain streets that are one way but this hasn’t stopped these boy racers from speeding down these streets or driving the wrong way down a one way street - all they say is I’m only driving one way and think that it’s a smart remark.

What it wants is the speeding laws to be changed and made stronger.

This week we have a speeder doing 82mph in a 30mph zone, he even had his phone in his hand - he’s been promised his day in court. To stop these people who flout the law is to punish them severely.

Firstly their cars should be crushed, be it an old banger or a brand new car, a substantial fine and a minimum three-year ban, and if he is caught driving whilst banned he will face a custodial sentence.

We have drivers in this town driving around legally with 48 points on their licence, Why?

Because we have magistrates who listen to these offenders when they say that if they are banned from driving it will cause a hardship on their families if they lose their job.

It didn’t seem to bother them when they accrued their first 12 points, which should have seen them banned. What’s the point of giving people custodial sentences for offences but suspend it for two years?

If we have stronger sentences and enforce them this would go a long way hopefully to deterring other offenders making them think twice, more that reducing speed limits that punish law abiding drivers. A.P. Moxham

Mill Lane,

Great Harwood