I WAS recently in Gibraltar and was struck by the fact that their pedestrian crossings have a light which counts down the number of seconds left for pedestrians to cross. This seemed a very sensible signal.

Unfortunately the UK is extremely backward in adopting measures which most other countries introduced years ago.

For instance, why do we have a red/amber sequence in our traffic lights? Dispensing with the amber would bring us in line with many countries. We recently introduced chevrons on motorways whereas the French did away with them years ago and left gaps in the roadside with white lines to indicate traffic spacing – apart from other advantages there was a saving in white paint!

I can see no logical reason for exhibiting an L sign on cars not being driven by a learner. At the moment the L sign merely indicates that this is a vehicle which may at some time be driven by a learner, but not necessarily at this moment.

Another measure is allowing motorists to turn left (right in those countries which drive on the wrong side of the road) when there is no traffic approaching from the right/left.

I am sure our politicians can produce myriad reasons why we should remain out of step with most other advanced economies. We are falsely proud of claiming that we are the envy of the world but it is difficult to identify major matters, eg health, in which this is true. The traffic measures I have suggested are minor but we do lack imagination.

Geoffrey Richards, Ashton Road, Hilperton