I can assure Patrick Power (Oxford Mail, March 28) that it would not have been police but the Safer Roads Partnership at the bottom of the Headington Hill in Oxford when his friend was caught speeding.

The partnership was set up to make the roads safer and that is its everyday job, so there were no fewer police patrolling due to this van. At what speed should the police prosecute 10, 20, 30mph over the limit or perhaps even more if the conditions were "dry and bright"?

I don't seek to excuse or explain the actions of the police if they break the law, they should be prosecuted.

The officer who did 159mph is in the extreme minority, in fact the only one I have heard of.

As for the police who pursued the stolen car the wrong way along a dual carriageway and killed an unborn baby, there is no doubt that they made a grave error with terrible consequences.

But I find it interesting that Mr Power places all the blame with the police and none on the driver of the stolen car who began this tragic chain of events.

The real issue is that most collisions are preventable, almost without exception. That is because they are not 'accidents', they occur because of human error.

A large part of that error is driving too fast. The attitude of "it was only a bit over the limit" that Mr Power displays is exactly what we need to be rid of.

I find it a sobering thought that every year, thousands of lives are lost in preventable circumstances. I certainly don't find it a "triviality".

The fact is that if you speed and get caught, don't complain count yourself lucky it is just three points and £60, not a more serious consequence.

The other option is don't speed in the first place.

What is the proper police work Mr Power mentions? Does it not include preventing death and serious injury, damage to property and making the environment and the community in which we live safer?

It seems that the police are attacked every time the public is unhappy about a perceived injustice, which is usually being caught breaking the law.

Why not support the police instead of criticising at every opportunity, even then with a very blinkered view of events.

Bill Sykes, Evenlode Drive, Didcot