THE horrible accident on the M5 was surely a catastrophe waiting to happen (Echo, Nov 7).

The standards of motorway driving are all too often abysmal. Almost everybody drives far too fast and pays little attention to elementary road safety.

A recent journey up the M1 was a terrifying experience. I witnessed three near misses which could have resulted in fatal accidents.

The worst offenders were the big articulated lorries.

Sticking religiously to the speed limit, I was frequently overtaken by colossal lorries hurtling along at speeds that must have been in excess of 80mph.

On two occasions I saw streams of four or more lorries charging along (again at over 80mph) nose-to-tail, separated by barely five feet.

Had they run into fog an appalling pile-up would have occurred. Cruising at 50mph in a speed restricted area, a huge lorry came right up almost to my back bumper, flashed his lights at me and then roared past at what must have been nearly 70mph.

A little later another behemoth overtook me and, cutting in viciously in front of me, forced me onto the hard shoulder.

Most of these lorries were foreign registered and from Eastern Europe. It may sound xenophonic to categorise them thus, but, having worked for several years in Eastern Europe, not only have I found driving standards there to be diabolical, but endemic corruption means that many drivers have not even passed a driving test.

Isn't it time we clamped down heavily on these lethal cowboys?

Tony Arthur,

Durham.