Letters to the editor, The Daily Advertiser, April 26

Friday's "thought" ("Near miss highlights the value of courtesy", April 21) included an anecdote describing a section of Kooringal Road where "cars are not obliged to stop for pedestrians". There's no such thing.

Transport for NSW road safety rules stipulate that "you must give way to pedestrians if there is a danger of colliding with them, even if there is no marked pedestrian crossing" (for multiple references, search: give way to pedestrians NSW).

There is always a "danger of colliding" with a pedestrian seeking to cross a road if cars fail to give way: ergo, cars must always give way to pedestrians.

Several months ago (January 20), Mr Harper's advice for drivers sitting on the speed limit but being tailgated by petrol-headed simpletons was to break the law and drive a bit faster to get away from them.

This recent advice is similarly bizarre but potentially fatal; no 'right of way' allows one to mow down pedestrians.

Has Graham Parton ("Consultation confusion", Letters April 24) heard of Jacinta Price, or is Graeme Smith just contacting and talking to yes voters and ignoring the likes of Warren Mundine?

Don't treat the public like fools.

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It is wonderful to see how technology, such as mobility scooters has improved the ability for people with a disability to function to their fullest potential.

Unfortunately, problems can exist and do with the use of mobility scooters.

Not the least being, when mobility scooter operators fail to consider the safety of the general public.

One need not be a trauma surgeon to appreciate the effect upon the human body of it being unexpectedly impacted and then run over by a 100-kilogram-plus mobile scooter travelling at 10kmh.

Clearly there are many examples where modern technology, correctly used, can assist the disabled. Conversely, the ill-considered use of technology can and has resulted in an increased pool of disabled, the victims of mobility scooter mishandling being an example.

What regulations, if any, cover the use of mobility scooters in terms of operator ability and public risk liability?

At last, we are seeing some progress on fuel efficiency standards.

It's incredibly disappointing that the previous government brought our car manufacturing industry to a standstill, when we are so well-placed to manufacture electric vehicles in Australia.

As for fuel efficiency, they chose the reverse gear. In the past decade, millions of tonnes of unnecessary vehicle pollution have been created by dirty car engines, because these regulations were not tightened.

We are well below world-class standard as regards vehicle pollution. And this is not even counting the introduction of EVs, which have no tailpipe emissions.

Thankfully, the current Labor government is introducing an Electric Vehicle Strategy, which will include higher fuel efficiency standards.

A national plan to roll out more charging stations would also encourage the uptake of EVs.

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