I RECENTLY received a speeding ticket. It was my first road traffic penalty in almost 40 years of driving.

I was driving at 68 miles per hour in a 60 zone. It was 8am on a Sunday on a flat Lincolnshire road, in good weather and with excellent visibility.

I am not complaining. I broke the law and the speed camera recorded that fact. I have paid my fine and will be more cautious.

However, it has made me reflect that some people routinely flout traffic regulations.

I work on Piccadilly in York. At the mini roundabout halfway down, a sign clearly indicates that beyond this point towards Parliament Street the road is only for buses, taxis and "for access".

As anyone who walks down Piccadilly will observe, every other car appears to be requiring access to Coppergate or Pavement. Or is it just that the drivers are interpreting "access" as "where I want to go"?

Every evening I leave work and drive into the inevitable jam on the ring road at its junction with Piccadilly. Going down towards Coppergate/Pavement would save time and petrol, but I abide by the signs. If police or traffic wardens occasionally stationed themselves along this stretch, the fines they could impose would more than repay their efforts.

The other thing that really irritates me is cycles being ridden in the town centre pedestrian streets.

Then there are drivers using mobile phones.

Anyone sitting in York traffic twice a day like myself will have lost count of sightings of these offenders.

A law ceases to be of use if it is not enforced. It seems that the authorities use the easy tool of speed cameras to penalise motorists, but have little time or stomach to tackle other traffic offences.

Tom Metcalfe,

Burton Stone Lane,

York.

Updated: 08:33 Saturday, October 29, 2005