Sir - Most of us probably fussed and whinged when we were toddlers having to learn to give up nappies. WAAAH! It's human nature...take away a privilege, people whinge.

So no surprise that a few drivers are fussing at the suggestion that 10mph be shaved off the speed limit on most of Oxford's residential roads.

You can talk eloquently about the many benefits and subtleties of a city-wide 20mph speed limit; how it actually doesn't increase car journey times, how it pollutes less and uses less petrol due to gentler acceleration, how it saves lives and allows more cyclists and pedestrians to share the streets without fear. But logic and reason are wasted on some people.

If anyone threatens to spoil their fun and make them keep to less-than-lethal speeds in their cars for a change, they're going to start soiling their pants in protest. WAAAH!

The county council has so far shown foresight and willingness to contemplate a city-wide 20mph norm on most of Oxford's residential streets. I hope they find the courage not to let anyone's WAAAH! hijack the agenda.

It's only been a year since smokers were hollering about the smoking ban coming in. We'd still be stewing in smoke-filled trains, buses, coaches, airplanes, and restaurants were it not for the government gradually standing up to the smokers' lobby. I admit, the pubs smell kind of funny without smoke, but just imagine how mad it would seem if someone today suggested we dedicate a carriage for smoking in the Underground.

Perhaps the narrow 30mph residential streets will one day seem just as outrageous in future, and the whinging of motorists seem just as quaint.

Ted Dewan, Oxford