My open letter to Matthew Offord MP concerning road safety and fitness to drive

Dear Dr Offord,

I am writing concerning recent statements made to the media concerning driving whilst unfit. As I am sure you are aware, both Mr Dominic Cummings and Michael Gove have stated to the media that they have ‘gone for a drive to see if they are capable of driving’.

Putting the other issues to one side, I cannot see any way a responsible member of the government could possibly endorse such dangerous practices. No one should ever get behind the wheel of a car, unless they know they are 100% fit to drive. Not only have they put themselves and their families at risk, they have put other road users and pedestrians at risk.

My father ran a crash repair business in Mill Hill for 40 years and I grew up seeing the results of unsafe driving on a daily basis. I also had the unfortunate experience of being run over by a driver, who was not paying attention, travelling at 40mph, at the traffic lights at Burnt Oak. I still suffer daily pain from the injuries.

As such, I am asking you to make the strongest possible representations to the Prime Minister to ensure that both Mr Gove and Mr Cummings are not only reminded of their responsibility to promote safe behaviour in their cars, but publicly state that their behaviour has been dangerous and stupid.

Whilst I have strong views on the other aspects of this business, for me the road safety concerns are issues that can under no circumstances be justified.

Regards, Roger Tichborne 


Update 28/05/2020

Matthew Offord has issued a statement on his website. It doesn't address my question, but he does express criticism of Mr Cummings behaviour -  https://www.matthewofford.co.uk/news/statement-dominic-cummings

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Should I receive a reply I will update this blog