Cyclists are a cause of danger on the roads

Sir, With reference to your story about the hunt for a dangerous cyclist ( The Oban

Times, June 30), in my experience most cyclists are considerate and well behaved, and the very small delinquent minority aren’t juveniles or even teenagers but adults who ought to know better.

They are MOMILs (Mad Old Men In Lycra) who spurn cycle tracks, race with head down along trunk roads, refuse to wear high-visibility clothing, care nothing for other road users and are a danger to themselves and others.

Their behaviour not only causes frustration and delay but also increased fuel consumption and consequent avoidable ecological damage by the tail-backs they create for what is, after all, a leisure activity. It is hard to think of anything more selfish.

We need some changes in the Highway Code and probably the law as follows.

Cyclists should be legally required to avoid motor roads and use cycleways rather than motor roads whenever possible. A case in point is the Sustrans track from Benderloch to Barcaldine.

Cyclists who use motor roads outside 30mph zones should be required to wear crash helmets and high visibility clothing conforming to E471. The minimum should be a gilet, which weighs next to nothing and can be obtained online for around £2. It could prove a life-saver. ‘See and be seen’ is the way to go.

The law should be changed so that it is legal to cycle along roadside paths outside built-up areas, obviously with due regard to pedestrians (Halfway House to Oban, for example). Many cyclists already do this and they should be encouraged.

Cyclists should remember that at all times and especially on single-track roads, they have a legal obligation to allow faster following traffic to overtake safely as soon as possible.

John Gosling, Siskin, Barcaldine.