Statistics can be made to prove almost anything

I MUST take issue with David Bagshall (Letters, January 13) over the traffic light timings in Okehampton town centre.

I don't know how long he has lived in the area, how often he drives in the town or if he has any experience of what preceded the present situation.

I live in the centre and use all the roads involved at least once a day and often more, and I don't think I'm the only person who hopes we never go back to two-way traffic in Fore Street; no filters in either direction causing gridlock at the junctions with George Street and Market Street as dozens of cars waited to turn right.

Periodically, a driver would make the turn across a quick break in the nearest line, only to be hit by a car in the inside on-coming lane, obscured from his vision.

In the middle of this mayhem, bewildered pedestrians scurried from one side to the other, taking their lives in their hands at each crossing.

At least now there is the order and predictability of a clockwise sequence and one can see at a glance which line will move next.

I can only assume that Mr Bagshall's dramatic sounding waiting times have been arrived at by adding together those for every vehicle in each sequence (statistics can be made to prove almost anything!)

Certainly, under normal circumstances no individual driver waits for longer than a few minutes and less at quiet times.

Zoe Bradshaw

East Street

Okehampton