letters to the editor – don’t let them buy these vehicles

Sir

Many years ago I attended training in order to improve my two wheeled skills, for in those days one could ride certain motor cycles on the road without having to pass a two wheel test. One of the key lessons was that one should obtain a motor cycle that was appropriate to one’s size; the principle being that you needed to be able to put your feet on the ground when at rest and the point was ably demonstrated by one of the instructors who was about five foot two. It was something that the dealerships also took seriously and would try hard to dissuade buyers from choosing a bike that they would find hard to manage.

I have long since given up two wheel motoring, but am concerned with the fad for large MPV and SUV vehicles whereby it is patently obvious that many of the drivers cannot manage the vehicles. A few minutes in any retail centre car park will yield a number of examples of people who, having bought one of these behemoths, cannot adequately manoeuvre it.

Is it not time to have some sort of proficiency test before one is allowed to buy a specific vehicle? If you cannot reverse one properly one should not be allowed to buy one and take it out onto the roads. Standards of driving generally these days are bad enough without having idiots driving vehicles that are too big for them.

Yours etc

Disgusted of Dorcan