We motorists are 'sitting ducks' . . .

1:50pm Tuesday 6th May 2008

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IT has recently been announced that Wirral Council is backing a move to make the Mersey Tunnels toll free.

The question has arisen about who will pay for their upkeep. If it went on the rates, people who don't use the tunnels would rightly object.

This is a cost that should not be on the rates - the motorist is already paying (overpaying) for the upkeep of the roads and that's where the money should come from.

Orginally, the road tax was to pay for road improvement and upkeep only, but Winston Churchill raided it to balance his Budget when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer.

It's no longer a road fund - it's just part of the general tax and a certain amount is allocated each year for road use. This, I read, is as little as 11 per cent - the rest goes to prop up non-profit making services.

Scotland has made all bridges and tunnels toll-free.

The motorist is regarded as a milch cow' - we are sitting ducks'.

H. Taberner,President,Merseyside Morris Minor Club(address supplied)