Biker groove
We now have two million people in the UK cycling at least once a week and British Cycling has more than 100,000 members. Those who lobby against cycling interests often accuse cyclists of jumping red lights and failing to pay road tax. Nobody in the UK pays road tax for using roads, it is a tax on emissions and bicycles are zero emissions. Not every cyclist jumps lights, either. Indeed cyclists are 15 times more likely to be killed on the road than other road users, and more than 90 per cent of cycling casualties are due to driver error.
What Britain really needs is an ambassador for safer driving. British Cycling should issue a “cycling/driving code of conduct” to all its members/staff, and Bikeabilty – cycling proficiency for the 21st century – should become a prerequisite to obtaining a provisional driving licence and also be a part of the driving test. (I’ve heard bus company Stagecoach trains its drivers to ride bicycles).
Allan Ramsay
Radcliffe Moor Road
Radcliffe, Manchester