AS a professional driver, covering in excess of 60,000 miles a year, I obviously have an interest in road safety.

This morning, between 6.30am and 7am, I drove about seven miles from Poole to Bournemouth.

During this journey I counted 15 vehicles with defective lights and one driver choosing to use fog lights inappropriately.

With so many examples of poorly maintained cars, there is little surprise that a lot of congestion is caused by breakdowns without even thinking about the contribution a lack of servicing or basic safety checks make to the accident rate.

Please can I appeal to all vehicle owners / users to take 10 minutes each weekend to check lights, wipers, tyres and screen wash.

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