Cyclists should adhere to same rules as motorists

Thank you for printing Tom Cullen’s letter on November 7 about invisible cyclists, but I doubt very much if his appeal will make any difference to those concerned.

One day last year I was a passenger on the bus from Oban to Barcaldine and had a view of the road to the left and also forward through the bus windscreen. During the first half or so of the journey there was heavy and occasionally torrential rain with very limited visibility.

On the A828 main road between Benderloch and Barcaldine there is a long straight section with the Sustrans track immediately alongside, and about halfway along this stretch we caught up with a cyclist. As there was considerable on-coming traffic we had to wait quite a while before being able to overtake him and I was thus able to observe him.

The cyclist was a young-ish male, wearing a completely black outfit without any high-viz reflective material whatsoever. His cycle was also matt black with no mudguards, lights or reflective surfaces. On that morning, against the road and surroundings he was effectively camouflaged and pretty well invisible at any distance. Fortunately, a few minutes earlier the deluge had ceased or we may well not have seen him and there could have been a tragedy.

The Sustrans track was immediately adjacent, but the cyclist spurned it, preferring to risk his life by asserting his right to use the carriageway.

Cyclists using roads with speed limits above 30mph should be legally required to wear a high visibility garment and an approved brightly coloured cycling helmet at all times. The growing practice of using high intensity lights by day as well as by night should be encouraged. See and be seen must be the watchword.

The law relating to cycles and road cycling should be more rigorously enforced and amended where necessary to include compulsory bells, mudguards, efficient brakes, lights and so on. Dangerous and careless cycling should be as punishable in actual practice as careless and dangerous driving for motorists.

Cyclists using public roads should also hold at least third party insurance and the legal presumption of innocence on the part of cyclists should be removed and they should be regarded in the same way as other road users.

Given the huge (and welcome) increase in cycling as a pastime, but also bearing in mind the much greater speed and density of modern traffic, every effort should be made to separate cyclists from vehicles, especially on major roads. To this end, the provision of Sustrans and other cycle tracks should be accelerated and given priority. Where they clearly provide a viable alternative to roads (as in many places on the developing Oban to Fort William route), their use should be mandatory and legally enforced.

Future publicity for cycling should put much greater emphasis on associated legal obligations, consideration for other road users and, above all, on safety – for the sake of everyone, and this is a surely a crucial responsibility for anyone involved.

John N Gosling

Barcaldine.