While we will never see our roads trauma free, it is well beyond time to look beyond the square with a genuine desire to stem the progress of this deepening crisis and the devastating consequences that are associated, and not just hide in a political pretence.

Subsequent to this, the driving culture of many today is abysmal. A culture of arrogance, disregard, impatience and lack of respect for others. It is also a culture born of bureaucratic incompetence.

Common sense has been abandoned to appease civil libertarian and social leftist whims by relaxing traffic laws and penalties, resulting in a total disregard for community safety .

As a contributor to this newspaper section over many years on this subject, I observe daily appalling driving behaviour, seemingly accepted as the standard – wind-tailing, speeding, speeding into roundabouts, items obscuring windscreen vision and concentration, failing to indicate therefore leaving traffic to bank and frustrate and road-rage. And sanctioned vehicle modification, including loud exhausts, lowered vehicles and widies, particularly when it is inevitable that these drivers will be hoons.

What is it that evidently lacks in young driver tuition and education?  And so on it goes –deteriorating before us. 

Drug driving, very high range drink driving, driving whilst suspended and drivers involved in police pursuits should carry a mandatory custodial sentence in all Australian states. Also our police require assistance to manage this situation with both ministerial and judicial support, not restriction, and this is a fair and reasonable public expectation.

However no doubt those who have the capacity to bring change to this issue will read this article, have a giggle and give myself and a concerned community the single fingered response!

On Saturday evening numerous lightening strikes caused fires in this area.

Firstly, let me thank all Country Fire Authority (CFA), NSW Firefighters and private units that put out these blazes in very trying conditions.

I would like to ask however as to why the Mt Pilot fire tower wasn't called on to eliminate confusion as to fire locations.

During these incidents one CFA truck, through no fault of its sterling crew, drove away from a fire two kilometres from its station to attend a fire 10km away. Sounds silly but it actually happened. If Mt Pilot was up this would not have happened.

I have made inquires and found that no one is on Mt Pilot because the tower has no lightning strap or is below code in some other fashion. Time, money, crews’ efforts and more ground would have been saved if the tower had been maned, as it has been in previous years.

This letter is open to a reply from those in charge. If it’s a matter of the ‘dough’, I am good for $100. Thank you once again to all those under valued volunteers

In reference to the article titled “Christmas lunches for all” (The Border Mail, December 26). 

Hats off to all those who thought of others before themselves this Christmas. These included the Mirambeena Community Centre, Wodonga Uniting Church, Wagaratta Uniting Care and the Careran Foundation (supported by Albury City Council).

Well done to all the volunteers and communities that did similar deeds. This truly is the Christmas spirit.