Your articles prompted by Jeremy Clarkson's thoughts on the 50mph speed limit on the A44 north of Woodstock (Oxford Mail, December 1 and 2) caught my eye as I am one of the 'highway bureaucrats' most involved in road safety.

Mr Clarkson would get a more balanced view of this issue were he to sit at my desk and note the number of calls received from members of the public (including those bereaved as a result of traffic accidents), demanding action to reduce speeding.

They far outweigh those which express concerns about our speed management work.

Your second article commendably gave supporting views. Your reporter Phil Vinter perhaps illustrated the confusion by claiming he did not feel unsafe driving the route, but then contradicted this saying that the current situation was not particularly safe and perhaps the limit should be increased.

I completely endorse the comments of David Robertson, the county council's cabinet member for transport, that, based on accident monitoring data, the A44 is now a safer place.

Preventing the loss of our loved ones in road accidents is too important a task to leave to uninformed opinion.

That opinion must be informed by hard facts.

GEOFF BARRELL, Principal Engineer, Road safety/traffic engineering, Oxfordshire County Council