WITH the rate at which the snow fell on Monday morning it's not surprising there were difficulties during the rush hour. Gritters were out on Sunday night, and at 4.30am on Monday, and the roads were in a reasonable condition.

Unfortunately, thanks to the number of speed humps, snow ploughs do not work too well on the city's roads.

Many of the problems were caused by the motorists who seemed totally incapable of adjusting their driving behaviour to suit the prevailing conditions.

I watched as many motorists left their braking until the last moment, failed to leave a sensible gap between themselves and a preceding vehicle, entered a roundabout when the exit was blocked by stationary traffic thus causing a log-jam, drove with inadequately cleared windows, and seemed to think that the only way to make progress on a hill start was to floor the accelerator.

Until such time as motorists learn how to drive in adverse conditions we will continue to have minor shunts, traffic hold-ups and headlines such as "Where Were The Gritters?" (February 21).

A Dobinson,

Askham Lane,

Acomb,

York.

Updated: 10:35 Wednesday, February 23, 2005