Sir, Your report (Nov 6) rightly expresses concern at the number of cyclists’ deaths. More than 800 deaths in three months is unacceptable but it is brought about by traffic laws several decades out of date.
These were formulated when pavements were crowded with pedestrians and when there were very few motorised vehicles. Nowadays, except in town centres, there are many miles of empty pavements yet cyclists are expected to ride within inches of fast-moving vehicles.
It is strange that in these days of health and safety awareness a policeman could direct a cyclist from a place of relative safety to a very dangerous one. Cyclists should be allowed to ride on pavements where it is safe to do so. This would, of course, give rise to accidents with pedestrians but bumps and bruises here are preferable to severe injury or death on the road. As a pedestrian, I am more than happy to share my generous space with cyclists.
Bob Roper
Knaresborough, N Yorkshire