THE middle-aged, male driver of the large, silver vehicle which drove along Craig Street, Darlington, at 1.50pm last Monday, heading towards Hollyhurst Road (registration number supplied to The Northern Echo) might be able to concentrate better if he didn’t text while driving – especially important as he was driving near an infants school.

At least he wasn’t speeding, I suppose; some anti-social knuckleheads treat Craig Street like a proverbial racetrack. Even so, he wouldn’t stand much chance of avoiding an accident if he was looking at his mobile, would he?

He should buy a Bluetooth headset, pull over, or just switch the bloody thing off.

Name supplied, Darlington.

YOU reported that Cleveland Police issued more than 40 fixed penalty notices in seven days for failure to use seat belts (Echo, some editions, March 2). If they concentrated on the illegal use of mobile phones in cars, half an hour’s effort would surpass the 40 mark. When is the misuse of mobiles in cars going to be treated seriously?

Eric Gendle, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.