Penalties for cyclists
SIR – N W N Brown (Letters, February 19) raised the issue of cyclists and e-scooterists using pavements illegally, and pointed out that prosecutions are rare due to a lack of police enforcement. The police will probably argue that they are obliged to allocate their officers “elsewhere”.
However, since May 31 2022 local authorities in England have been able to apply to the Secretary of State for powers to enforce “moving traffic offences”. They are then given consent to issue fines for transgressions such as ignoring red lights.
My local council already operates patrols enforcing traffic offences such as cars parking at bus stops and stopping in box-junctions. These patrols could also identify, apprehend and fine cyclists illegally riding on footways – so why don’t councils make use of them?
Geoff Johnson
Gateshead, Co Durham
SIR – I agree that cyclists – as road users capable of causing death or injury – should be identifiable. There are, though, practical difficulties in fixing a registration plate that is large enough to read to a bicycle. Moreover, a cyclist may own more than one machine – I have four.
It is the rider who should be registered, with a number prominently displayed on an item of clothing such as a lightweight high-visibility gilet, readable by CCTV or witnesses to any incident. Third-party insurance should also be compulsory. The awareness that cyclists can be traced should, hopefully, persuade the rogue element to comply with the law.
William Smith
St Helens, Lancashire
SIR – N W M Brown, who complains that cyclists are using pavements, seems unaware that in many towns and cities pavements are clearly signposted as “dual use”. This means that they are for both cyclists and pedestrians. If a dual-use pavement is adjacent to a road, cycling on that road is illegal.
D F G Dobson
Whitchurch, Shropshire
SIR – I rode a bicycle in London for many years and although I had a bell, I found it useless as nobody heard it. I therefore bought myself a small foghorn powered by a compressed air cannister, which was most effective. I also found that the only safe way to ride was to do so as if I were invisible to other road users. I neither caused nor suffered any injury.
Charlotte Wallis
Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire