Disgusted police are persecuting cyclists (From The Oxford Times)

Disgusted police are persecuting cyclists

11:34am Thursday 28th June 2012 in Letters

Sir – I was disgusted to read that the police have been penalising cyclists for riding on the pavement on the Iffley Road (Report, June 14). The police should be working on the behalf of cyclists and not persecuting them as a minority.

Nothing like enough provision is made for the safety of cyclists in this country. In comparison with e.g. Belgium and Holland, the UK cycling facilities are in the Dark Ages. In Oxford, the cycle lanes are too narrow and periodically they disappear. How clever is that?

The Iffley Road in its current chaotic state is particularly dangerous to cyclists. My partner and I refer to it now as ‘The Iffy Road’!

If I have to choose between riding safely or being knocked over by a bullying motorist I should prefer not to have my life put at risk. It is crass and short-sighted for police to ignore the rights of cyclists in favour of motorists and pedestrians. Cyclists are human too. Cyclists also pay taxes. If we are knocked over do we not bleed?

Cyclists do not clog the roads. We do not pollute the air with fumes or particulates. We do not burn precious energy resources as if there were no tomorrow. We exercise healthily and save the NHS a fortune by our un-obesity.

Acting in this misguided way the police are not just doing something immoral (fining us because we don’t want to be run over) and irrational against cyclists but they are damaging us all. After all we don’t ride on the pavements because we like dodging pedestrians but because adequate cycling lanes have not been provided. Yours greenly.

Dagmara Platuska East Hagbourne