OXFORDSHIRE County Council leader Ian Hudspeth hit the nail on the head when he said one minor traffic light fault can cause the kind of nightmare experienced by thousands of drivers on Wednesday night.

It turns out a workman accidentally broke a traffic light sensor at the M40 junction 9 at Wendlebury leading to girdlock on the A34 northbound and chaos in the city as people tried to find alternative routes home.

It is, of course, not the traffic light that led to the problems, but the perfect storm of a high volume of cars (despite it being half-term), major roadworks and peak traffic.

This firstly begs the question why such a simple fault could not have been sorted sooner by the Highways Agency as it was reported at 5pm and not fixed until 9pm. Its silence on why it took so long will not encourage drivers.

Many will also not take heart in Mr Hudspeth’s suggestion that commuters take the train.

Rising rail fares, the complex myriad charges, paying to park, overcrowded trains, unreliable services and the inevitable walk or bus home will not entrance workers who lead the kind of lives where minutes, not hours, count.

Of course, the same could be said for the road network.

But when it works – such as congestion alleviated on the southern by-pass by running a road through the centre of the Heyford Hill roundabout – then drivers do notice the benefits.

Alternatives should be considered where possible, but for now transport planners must move to convince voters that action is being taken to meet demand on our roads.