Should bikes be confined to cycle lanes?

OBLIGING cyclists to use cycle paths would require a change in the laws that have given cyclists the freedom of the roads since 1888. The cycling lobby is unlikely to agree to that and, indeed, Transport for London has made it clear that the use of the cycle super-highways is not compulsory. Many commuting cyclists easily achieve road speeds in excess of 20mph, and average journey speeds better than can be achieved by cars. They would not want to be confined to slow-moving cycle lanes where overtaking is difficult, if safer. Imposing a default 20mph speed limit in urban environments to reduce the speed differential between cars and cycles would make a great contribution to road safety without affecting the average journey speeds for cars. Urban traffic problems are caused by cars, not bicycles!

TONY PURTON, London W13.

I HAVE bitter experience of so-called Lycra louts. A cyclist caused £600 worth of damage to my car by punching my bonnet when he believed I had cut him up. Cyclists behave in this manner because they know they will never be caught by the authorities: in their crash helmets, dark glasses and Lycra, they all look the same. If only they were required to display some form of identification, I feel sure their anti-social behaviour would be curtailed as it would be easier for the police to identify them from CCTV footage. J. W. BRADLEY, Worcester Park, Surrey.

PEOPLE who complain about cyclists should realise there are two species,

Kinopus ambulosa and K. furiosa. The first are slightly amplified pedestrians who blunder about and don’t know how to pass others, don’t mind stopping where a cycle path crosses side roads and might have poor judgment of what is safe.

K. furiosa are under-powered vehicle drivers who travel fast, but not quite fast enough on narrow roads. They can be dangerous because they travel silently. They avoid cycle lanes, which cause stopping and starting, are often unswept and have sharp objects lethal to flimsy tyres or are cluttered with the slow species. Hence they prefer to speed along car lanes.

R. J. ANDREWS, Farnborough, Hants.