SPEED limits certainly do have their place in our society but we seem obsessed with them to the exclusion of matters that have greater effect on road safety.

Of far greater importance are "safety zones" around vehicles, the most important of which is the minimum of a two second gap between vehicles.

Look at any motorway and see how many drivers have left at least two seconds; it's not that many.

The concept of safety zones goes much further so that there is around a vehicle, in every direction, sufficient space to ensure whatever goes wrong on the road, whether of the drivers making or caused by another driver, that there is a safe escape route.

It is a great shame that the whole concept is not a fundamental part of all driver education.

Until we get away from our single-minded obsession that all accidents are caused by exceeding arbitrary speed limits and get to a situation of enforcing responsible and skilled driver behaviour, we will never effectively reduce road accidents.

DEREK BIGGS, West Wellow.