Your reply in a recent Sunday Telegraph 'Life' section entitled 'Out Burst' concerned me greatly as AW reported having suffered two blowouts with his Mercedes. I have two cars, a Mercedes E320CDI estate and an Audi R8. The roads around Huddersfield are littered with speed cushions and I encounter great problems with the R8. Experience has shown I cannot straddle the cushions, as many are too high and consequently the underside of my car is damaged. If I drive over them one wheel over and the other on the road, at 10 to 15 mph, I still damage the underside of the front sill. The Mercedes is used daily and consequently receives the most punishment from traffic calming measures. Following my reading of your 'Life' reply I carried out a cursory inspection of my Mercedes wheels and tyres and all appeared OK. To be safe I took my car to a local Specialist today and on closer inspection it was found my near side front tyre was split along the inner shoulder. The tyre was in a dangerous condition and I shudder to think what could have happened on my next journey to Scotland in a couple of week’s time. The Specialist said this was typical of speed cushion damage and showed me examples of recent tyres he had replaced for customers. I also was amazed at the number of alloy wheels he had replaced because they had cracked along the rim. I am indebted to you and your article for making me focus more on the problem, and wish you every success in your campaign.