Sir, - However well-intentioned Philip Orr (July 11th) may be about reducing the appalling death toll on our roads, he is aiming for the wrong target in blaming road-racers such as the late Joey Dunlop for the deaths of young drivers and motorcyclists allegedly "addicted to speed".
As one of the many thousands who travelled from far and wide on their motorcycles to pay their respects in Ballymoney last Friday, I find this suggestion somewhat offensive. To state that those who follow the sport of motorcycle racing are somehow by definition a danger on the roads is as ludicrous as suggesting that all Formula One fans are also.
As the death toll for car occupants, especially the young, continues to rise, motorcycle fatalities in Ireland are at their lowest level for 30 years - yet we are targeted for restrictive and discriminatory legislation while young, totally untrained drivers are unrestricted in the size and power of car they may drive (usually unaccompanied).
Did Mr Orr ever stop to consider how many of his "ordinary victims of motorcycling" were nothing of the sort; rather, they were victims of careless car drivers. Perhaps we should look at the shambles of a driver-testing system, the continued failure to implement the European directive in relation to theory tests, and the total lack of regulation of driving schools, if we wish to improve the preparation we give to our young people for a lifetime on the roads. - Yours, etc.,
Eoin Kirwan, Roebuck Castle, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14.