Why is John Prescott so obsessed with train safety when 10 people are killed every day on our roads?

I accept that rail safety is of national importance but I am certain that the risk of death on the road is much greater than the risk represented by train travel.

If I understand John Prescott correctly, his number one priority at the moment is to improve safety on the railways. It therefore follows that safety on the roads is of secondary importance. This is a classic example of Prescott's particular brand of logic.

His own, official Department of Transport figures show that it is considerably more dangerous to travel by car, motorcycle or bicycle than it is to travel by train.

There's no denying that all forms of mobility involve risk. But there is a hauntingly consistent level of fatalities on the roads, which claim between 3,000 and 4,000 lives every year.

On the railways the accident figures can differ widely from one year to the next, but it's undoubtedly true to say that road travel kills far more people than rail travel.

The rail industry (we hope), will remember October 17 for the tragedy that killed four people at Hatfield.

But October 17 was just an average day on the roads, where one might expect a dozen deaths in the same 24-hour period.

Coun Nick Martin

Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate North Swindon Constituency

Gartons Road

Swindon