Your article, Safety measures refused at junction (Oxford Mail, November 22), did not adequately convey the facts leading to the decision not to introduce traffic signals at the junction of The Slade with Wood Farm Road at Headington, Oxford.

You often feature reports of traffic accidents resulting in deaths and serious injuries.

Your issue of October 1 featured the emotive headline, Road Deaths Soar.

Oxfordshire County Council is committed to reducing deaths and serious injuries on the county's roads, but can do so only within the resources it has available.

There are more than 250 requests in the assessment process, with a total estimated cost of more than £5m and an available budget in 2003/4 of £1.25m.

We would be only too pleased to be able to deal with all these sites, but given these figures, councillors and staff to have to decide what can and cannot be included in works programmes.

An assessment process has been put in place for schemes to be prioritised so they are treated fairly.

One aspect of the assessment process is the accident record at the site.

Of the six injury accidents at The Slade site, four were of a random nature that could not be attributed to the road layout.

These were a child falling down the steps of a bus, a drunken student falling off a milk float, a car door being opened in front of a motorcyclist and a car swerving on to the wrong side of the road and hitting a pedestrian on a pelican crossing.

The two other accidents were considered in the assessment, but the perception that "the road is dangerous" is not borne out. Both accidents occurred in 1999.

I am sure many readers will agree that there are many sites that need attention before this one.

ERROL CARRINGTON

Senior Engineer

Transport Projects

Implementation

Oxfordshire County

Council