"They're only motorists...!"

Sir,
Once again the motorist pays.

You may have been unfortunate enough to have travelled recently along the A30 between Egham and Sunningdale. If you did, you must have become aware of the large number of cars that had lost windscreens. These shattered by the loose chippings being deposited by the antiquated method of resurfacing roads.

Apart from the expense of replacing windscreens, thousands of pounds of damage was done to paintwork of more fortunate motorists, who did not lose their windscreens.

Surely in this age of space craft and trips to the moon, there must be better ways of resurfacing a main arterial road than pouring tar on a road and sprinkling stones on to it. The traffic then throws all the chips that have not stuck in the tar all over the countryside and at each other until a fair percentage gets deposited into the gutters; this is then swept up and reloaded into lorries; ludicrous.

I think the time has come when all motorists supported by motoring organisations, started a campaign to end this stupidity.

Ashford. A.G. Herd.
[We agree entirely. Not only is this primitive method of road repairing detrimental to tyres and paintwork, but it endangers life by shattering windscreens. Having used too much tar for these sort of repairs, the local councils then throw loose grit on it in hot weather—again endangering screens and scrubbing tyres —scandalous!—Ed]