Madam,

There has been much in your paper about the A44 - and I felt compelled to comment. I have been a frequent traveller across roads in mid Wales and the borders, as well as across Europe since the 1980s.

I’ve seen very few road improvements in mid Wales in all that time, certainly no new major road projects.I used to be an extremely regular user of the A44 and have seen it recently described as the most dangerous road in Wales and the Ceredigion coastal road as of medium to high risk. In my experience they are not alone or even the most dangerous roads to drive in mid Wales.

I believe there are several reasons for a full, independent review of mid Wales transport infrastructure and policy.

If you compare Welsh roads to other rural parts of France, Germany, Norway, Holland - with similarly challenging landscapes - the Welsh roads seem by far the worse, especially in mid Wales.

These is still a heavy reliance on a road network based on the old historic routeways designed for livestock and carriage, with precious few new roads or even sections of new road for the motorist.Unlike their European counterparts, the authorities have not risen to the challenge and employed bridges, viaducts, tunnels let alone dual carriage-ways on mid Wales roads and there are only two single-track railways for the whole region.

There have been a tiny number of road widening, straightening, rerouting or other road improvement schemes and the ones I witnessed were unambitious and took years and years to complete.Most roads in the area remain narrow, twisty, single carriage-ways.

Yesterday, I was stuck behind a car travelling at 25 to 40mph along with more than 18 other vehicles I could see, all the way from Welshpool to Dolgellau, over 40 miles! No-one could get past safely, although some did try.

Road signage, especially for sharp corners, is wildly inconsistent and speed limits too. Sharp corners should be straightened.

The main issue causing congestion, delays and leading to much poor driving in my experience is drivers travelling very slowly, locked in their own worlds, with a complete lack of interest or awareness for the queues of traffic behind them.

Other poor driving I regularly see is poor cornering, excessive braking, driving too close together, lack of awareness and lack of anticipation. These are by no means unique to Welsh motorists, but the effects are more pronounced as the roads are so poor.

Questions must also be asked about the volume of slow-moving agricultural vehicles and goods vehicles using the roads at peak times. Also, caravan hauliers block roads for up to half an hour, forcing drivers onto the verge or off the road entirely. Given the poor capacity and lack of roads, perhaps these kinds of vehicle should be restricted to using the roads at other times. Invest in infrastructure or it will be the death of Wales in the long term.

Graham Morris, Address withheld