Cycle licences

SIR – Russell Grimshaw (Letters, November 19) says he is “a confident cyclist”. Hopefully, he is not of the type who have nearly run over my dogs recently. These aggressive cyclists are increasingly common. They ignore red lights, weave through traffic, move at dangerous speeds and ride on the pavement. A solution is needed.

Given how much of the public highway cyclists now occupy, it is time for them to pay for that privilege. They should have to buy an annual licence for, say, £50. They would then receive two six-letter identification labels, to display front and back. Photographs or videos of bad cycling could be sent by phone to an enforcement unit, which would fine the guilty cyclist or issue endorsements in much the same way as for motorists.

Gregory Shenkman

London SW7

SIR – My wife and I visited our daughter in Kyoto when she was studying Japanese. She had hired bicycles for us. The city is fairly flat and very popular with cyclists, who often ride on the pavement.

Before we set off, she explained that sounding the bell to alert pedestrians of our approach was regarded as very rude – but that the Japanese had solved the problem by designing the brakes on all bicycles to squeak loudly.

The only exceptions to this unwritten code were old ladies, whose bell-ringing was forgiven.

Piers Hart