What does it take to bring some newspaper columnists to their senses on road safety? A few months ago the Chief Constable of North Wales, Richard Brunstrom, at a private meeting with the press showed an image of the decapitated head of a motor cyclist killed riding at high speed. He sought to engage those present with the reality of what is a part of the job of traffic police officers, firemen, hospital and mortuary staff - and even clerks in the coroners' and solicitors' offices. But for those present there was a far better story to be had -  finding yet another opportunity to roast Brunstrom himself because he had failed to obtain the consent of the family involved. The national press had a field day and two MPs recently called for Brunstrom's resignation - the purpose for which his original meeting had been convened being completely forgotten.

All this seems to have made little impression on Matthew Parris writing in THE TIMES. He is calling for the decapitation of cyclists by stringing piano wire across country lanes as a novel way of celebrating Yuletide. It is a tune he may live to regret as the world of cycling protests at this man's crass stupidity less than two years after the world mourned the loss of four members of the Rhyl Cycling Club in just the sort of circumstances Brunstrom had in mind when he called his meeting in the first place - motorists driving too fast in prevailing conditions

See Parris's piece at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article3097464.ece   (010108)