I WRITE in response to Neil Thompson’s letter in Friday’s Oxford Mail, refering to his perceived failure on my part to recognise the professionalism of all emergency vehicle drivers.

This is not the case, and if he were to refer to my original letter, he will see it was in reference to lorry drivers tailgating.

I also refer to a previous letter, when he referred to lorry drivers being prepared to move aside for emergency vehicles quicker than other vehicles.

We are all aware of our responsibility to emergency vehicles when answering a call. We are also aware that we are required to move out of the way, when safe to do so.

Neil, and all of the other vociferous critics of my original letter, have been quick to pour scorn, but have singularly failed to provide a valid reason when it is safe to tailgate, often at speed. Indeed, most condoned it and seemed to consider it an acceptable practice.

Surely as a paramedic he’s seen the results of collisions involving rear end shunts, and there is very little record of a vehicle driving backwards and colliding with the one behind at speed.

The driver of the second vehicle is always deemed the guilty party.

In the week my original letter appeared, a lorry was in collision with a horse box on the same stretch of road.

As to taking on a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent, it would appear those same critics in failing to justify, or indeed in most cases justifying, tailgating – usually as a way to bully other drivers to one side – are not just unarmed; what bullets they have fired have been blanks.

I wait, with increasingly less confidence, for someone to tickle the keyboard and maybe enlighten us all with a problem they have had with tailgating.

KEN ROPER, Morton Avenue, Kidlington