We all know that Oxford lives on a knife-edge when it comes to traffic.

One accident, one set of roadworks, even the slightest hiccup is likely to send the whole road system into chaos.

We can understand why works are carried out during the school summer holidays when families are away and there are fewer vehicles.

But the city seems to have suffered more than its fair share of disruption this year.

Temporary traffic lights in High Street, Cowley Road and Hollow Way are at present playing havoc with people's lives, and not only those going by car.

Passengers are complaining that 20-minute bus journeys are taking more than an hour because the roads are so clogged with one-way systems and temporary traffic lights.

Oxfordshire County Council appears to be blaming the delays on Transco on the grounds that it is essential gas main work.

The question the council should ask is whether all the schemes needed to go ahead simultaneously.

As for the council asking the public to suggest ways of easing the chaos, we give up. No-one expects a magic wand, but we pay heavily for council experts to sort out our problems, not the other way round.