AS a former police driving instructor I am disgusted by the policy of Lancashire Constabulary and the county council in relation to road safety matters, especially the 'zero tolerance' enforcement of speed limits.

For the past 70 years or so, the police have taught their own drivers to drive up to 33mph in open, clear, 30mph areas, as in law, a speedometer is allowed to have an error margin of 10 per cent either way.

No excuses, but how, in all honesty, can the police prosecute motorists for driving up to 36mph in a '30' area?

Caution them, yes. Educate them, yes. But prosecution is pure hypocrisy.

The police and county council also keep coming up with the 'Speed Kills' sound bite when the truth is, "yes, but only when used in the wrong place and/or by the wrong person.

Most accidents are caused by bad judgement, inattention, ignorance, arrogance, criminality, driving under the influence of drink/drugs and bad eyesight. And speed cameras do not catch yobbish and reckless drivers, criminal drivers, uninsured drivers, disqualified drivers, vehicles without test certificates and road fund licences and foreign drivers and drivers who are difficult to deal with because they don't have a fixed address.

Unless the policy of persecuting motorists is abandoned, the only drivers left on the road will be those mentioned above. The honest, hard working, regular individual who happens to live at a permanent address, will find him/herself banned.

In your article about 'Speed Kills' (LET, April 15), Linda Sanderson, communications manager at the Lancashire Partnership (police and LCC) for Road Safety said: "A driver is twice as likely to kill someone when driving at 35mph compared to 30mph."

Then she says: "Hit by a car at 30mph, about five out of ten pedestrians will be killed. Hit by a car at 40mph, nine out of ten pedestrians will be killed." You don't need to be an Einstein to work out that those figures just don't add up.

The police teach all their drivers to drive in as much road space as possible and then allow councils to narrow the roads.

They know that a cyclist needs a 'wobble distance' of at least six feet to be overtaken safely yet they allow councils to construct cycle lanes which are often incomplete and only approximately one metre wide.

ADRIAN SHURMER, Lyndon Avenue, Great Harwood.