Letters: An American view on 'hideous' New Forest road markings

SIR – I recently had a visit from an American friend who had served in the US Air force in UK some years ago.

As I drove him around in the New Forest he was very surprised: "What have you done to your countryside? All these white lines everywhere!"

Through Brook and Bramshaw there are white lines along all the roads and many signs saying: "SLOW", "30" or "40" painted on the road.

He asked: "What has happened to your 'green and pleasant land?'”

I saw his point.

Then when we neared Gordleton Bridge he was aghast: "What on earth are the white diamonds for? They are hideous!"

Here I could help him since I live nearby.

I said: "One day someone thought that Gordleton Bridge was dangerous so they put 'narrowings' in the road. I suppose they were meant as a warning, although no such thing appears in the Highway Code. Anyway, the narrowings proved very dangerous, causing many claims for burst tyres, damaged wheels or broken suspensions.

"The highway authority decided to put massive white triangles all the way up the road to warn of the dangerous narrowings".

My friend asked: "What kind of idiots are they then? Why didn't they just put the white triangles on the bridge?"

The answer to that is probably the bridge was not considered dangerous enough to re-quire such an eyesore of "white triangles".

Can any readers offer a better explanation?

Mike Beggs,

Broadmead,

Lymington