On a recent Thursday evening rush-hour drive from Oxford to Witney I was held up for a full eight minutes in a crawling queue between Farmoor and Eynsham. This was caused, of course, by that infuriating anachronism the Swinford Toll Bridge.

Such delays are a five days a week morning and evening nuisance for people obliged to use this route. They must spend an average of an hour a week in queues there. I am amazed that we are all so tolerant about this obstruction to a public road.

There have been efforts to deal with the matter in the past, with protests (see below) dating back at least to the 1960s. Ending this highway robbery (the bridge earns almost £200,000 a year tax free) will require an Act of Parliament. Well then, let’s have one. The local MP is the Prime Minister, for heaven’s sake. David Cameron expressed himself opposed to toll charges here more than six years ago.

Meanwhile, could not some legal redress be found? Why cannot some lawyer point out, Portia-like, that while the bridge owners are entitled to their pound of flesh in the form of their 5p toll, they must not inflict damage on motorists as a body by delaying them for one second in the collection of it?

Someone could usefully take a leaf out of the book of that brilliant man Richard Herman in his successful recent move in the small claims court — based on the cost to him in wasted time — against a cold-calling company which was hassling him over PPI compensation.

Let battle commence . . .