Letters: The lure of lorry driving

Driving force

Sir: As a long-distance UK lorry driver I am very aware of the issues raised by Rodney Pittam (‘So long, truckers’, 18 September). However the job can provide an income of more than £40,000 to those with a practical rather than an academic bent. Yes, there is unpleasantness, discomfort and a combative attitude from other road users. But there is also a high degree of independence, a chance to see this country and others, and a sense of pride in the job. Better facilities are overdue in this country for drivers, and this may go some way — together with greater remuneration — to creating more respect for the work we do.

David Darran

Cefnpennar, Rhondda Cynon Taff

One for the road

Sir: I very much enjoyed Rodney Pittam’s recollections of life on the road in the 1980s. Lorry drivers weren’t the only ones to enjoy the freedoms on offer. As students my girlfriend and I hitched thousands of miles across Europe and Asia and saved a fortune doing it this way. The best and longest lifts were with truck drivers who were almost always engaging, interesting and very generous when it came to meal stops and overnight accommodation.

David Long

Bitter sweets

Sir: Hannah Moore’s ‘Sweet and sour’ (11 September) wonderfully captured the sad state into which Oxford Street is deteriorating, with pop-up tourist and candy shops. Taking the 139 bus and seeing an ‘American candy shop’ every two minutes is heartbreaking: not only do they look cheap and shabby, they also blare awfully loud music. No wonder no one goes into these shops other than to see what the fuss is about. Westminster council needs to rid us of these visual pollutions and reclaim those spaces for independent shops and cafés to bring back Oxford Street’s prestige.