WITH reference to the letter in today’s (SA, December 29, name and address withheld), which was in reply to my original one entitled Driving on Ice (SA, December 11). I thank the person for their reply but would suggest that they go back and read the original thoroughly as they seem to have totally missed the point and also have made challenges to points that where at no time referred to in my original text.

The original letter was meant to be one of helpful tips to people who are pulling away from a standing start on icy surfaces, and was based upon observations of the methods that are used by taxi drivers that were witnessed during a stay in Moscow and I stand by what was written as being a very helpful guide to the people of Swindon who are pulling away from a stationary start on an icy road surface.

If the person who felt obliged to reply to my letter would care to read it again then this time he or she will clearly be aware that the word aquaplaning was not being used in reference to a vehicle that was already moving on an ice-covered road surface, but actually to water build-up under a tyre that was already spinning due to the driver having selected first gear from a standing start instead of the observed method of selecting second gear with the actual words being used ‘can be likened to aquaplaning’ with the vehicle being referred to was one that was unable to get sufficient grip on the icy surface from a stationary start.

Also at no time did I refer to the methods that I use for driving on icy surfaces and thus I would like to stress that the comment that was made by this person as to ‘in what era did I learn to drive’ as a total irrelevance to the observations of Moscow taxi drivers that I made and felt obliged to pass on to the people of Swindon as a help after witnessing so many of them having difficulty in pulling away in their cars from a standing start.

Furthermore may I suggest that this person who seems to take pride in telling readers that they were taught to drive in the mid to late 1960s may still be able to learn from people in other countries who face such weather on a regular basis, and more to the point that I am still open to the learning process even though it is many years since I received a lesson from a driving instructor in the UK.

G A WOODWARD Nelson Street Swindon