ONE can only sit open-mouthed at the insouciance of the Wiltshire council spokesman who suggests that for road safety measures to be effective "they must be controlled and managed through the Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership as part of a country wide approach" (SA, October 20).

I assume he refers to the quango which failed to control and manage the speed cameras on Queens Drive, Chiseldon and the A420 Gablecross, which as a matter of public record were not working for many months during which time SBC contributed over £300k to the partnership.

It is a mute point as to whether measures implemented by the partnership have been effective - if one takes an important measure such as a reduction in speeding then it can only be surmised that the partnership is a failure of enormous proportion. By their own figures they are issuing fixed penalty notices to more people than ever. This suggests that the education part of their remit is either being ignored or is a secondary consideration to issuing a ticket. We all know that the latter is a simple process involving no face to face meeting and is therefore the easy option.

I congratulate the villagers of Aldbourne for displaying initiative in producing a vehicle activated sign. I hope the chumps at Wiltshire council will not make themselves look mean spirited as well as silly by trying to find a law which makes them look very powerful. The fact is that the council exists to serve the people not rule the people DES MORGAN Caraway Drive Swindon