Madam, - The recent tragic deaths of so many Polish drivers on our roads may be linked to a difference in driving "culture" between our two countries. I have experience driving on the single-carriageway road from Warsaw to Bialystock.
It seems to be the recognised practice that drivers are expected to use the hard shoulder as a sort of unofficial inside lane, into which they move to allow oncoming vehicles to overtake; indeed, the overtaking driver assumes that an approaching vehicle will pull in to his hard shoulder to allow his manoeuvre, and it seems that the approaching driver knows to do that. When drivers in both directions carry out this manoeuvre simultaneously, the risks increase considerably; yet this practice goes on all the time.
It is possible that Polish drivers may expect the same reaction from drivers here, when it may be too late to discover that such manoeuvres on our roads may have fatal consequences.
Perhaps there may be some way of highlighting the differences in our driving practices to immigrant drivers, beyond advising them to "drive on the left". - Yours, etc,
AIDAN COOKE, Mullaghconnor, Dungannon, Co Tyrone.