Sir, Harold Thimbleby (letter, Aug 19) hopes that “courts will not blame drivers for the consequences of poor design”, apparently suggesting that a driver distracted by a feature such as a car radio or a complex navigation system should not be considered culpable for causing a death.

During the course of police advanced driver training, my fellow students and I were regularly reminded that the only significant difference between a good driver and a bad driver was the level of attention given to the road. Among the daily exercises that we were required to undertake was a “start-up drill” ensuring that, among other things, equipment such as headlights were turned on before moving off so that it was not necessary to look away from the road ahead for seconds at a time to locate the necessary switches.

The proposal that “sometimes nobody can drive a car safely with the distractions built into them” is preposterous. Those who hit a pedestrian because they are setting up the Sat-Nav, putting a CD into the stereo or even turning their head to speak to an unruly child are to some extent responsible for the harm done.

While we are all guilty of inattention from time to time, I submit that the very worst drivers are those who have regular accidents and can explain in every instance why the other driver, the pedestrian or, in this case, the design of the car itself, was to blame for the incident.

Perhaps Mr Thimbleby would warn me next time he intends to drive through Nottinghamshire.

Laurence Howland
Keyworth, Notts

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