Is anyone safe from speeding cyclists?
FURTHER to the report (Mail) about the death of dog-walker Hilda Griffiths, who died after being hit by a cyclist while crossing a road in London’s Regent’s Park, it is absurd that if a car driver does 22mph in a 20mph zone they will be fined, whereas if a cyclist does up to 29mph in a park where the limit is 20mph, hits an 81-year-old pensioner and kills her, they can escape punishment because of a legal loophole. The cyclist, Brian Fitzgerald, was a member of the Muswell Hill Peloton Club, doing timed laps around the park. The cyclists knew the speed limit and ignored it.
David COLE, north Ascot, Berks.
WALKING my dog in country parks, I am used to encountering cyclists on both formal and informal footpaths. While it is illegal for them to use the paths, there is no chance of byelaws being enforced. The bicycle is sacrosanct in our brave new world, destined to replace cars for the proles when they are priced off the roads to help save the planet. But should there never be consequences for cyclists, even when their irresponsible cycling causes injury or even death? The case of Hilda Griffiths, killed by a Lycra-clad man as he sped around Regent’s Park doing timed laps, is utterly tragic. Incredibly, Mr Fitzgerald was not even doing something against the law. I only hope Hilda’s son issues civil proceedings against him before the three-year legal time limit. While no sum of money can compensate for his mother’s loss, it might just cause other fast cyclists to be more mindful.
JOHN LAWRANCE (retired solicitor), Enfield, Middx.
ON a TV news channel, one commentator on the death of Hilda Griffiths remarked that the problem with cyclists is you can’t hear them. Yet on the roads there are now electric cars and buses and you can’t hear those, either. How can humans adapt to cope with this problem? We don’t evolve at the speed of innovation. Safety first, please. A. MARSTON, Wellingborough, northants.