IT is a situation which is really too horrible to imagine.

As the Oxford Mail went to press last night, a dad and his young daughter were on life support at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Assuming he pulls through, and the prayers of the entire county were with him last night, the reality that awaits him is one that is so cruel, so unfair, it doesn’t bear imagining.

This man has not only lost his wife, he also lost three children in the same needless accident.

We have spoken about traffic accidents in the Oxford Mail a lot over the years, and recently.

While we can’t speculate about what caused this particularly accident now, all we can say is that a huge number of accidents – the vast majority – could be prevented by human behaviour.

You don’t have to behave badly in order to have a car crash; in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Unfortunately it’s extremely easy to crash: the reality is that the responsibility is on every single driver to act extremely cautiously every single moment they are on the road.

It’s not a human right to be able to drive a vehicle, it’s a privilege.

To every single motorist who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle today, we plead with you – just slow down by a few miles an hour; take a little bit longer to think about what you are doing.

If you think for a second about whether to try to look at your phone, please just don't bother: just think about what the single second's inattention could cause – how many lives can be destroyed by one moment's stupidity.

However much of a rush you are in, it can wait a bit longer.

The deepest and most heartfelt sympathies of everyone at the Oxford Mail are today with everyone affected by this most horrific of accidents.

Our thoughts are also of those who were lost.