I WRITE with reference to the total disregard it would appear that cyclists have for cars and other motor vehicles on the road.

This morning while driving to work, I drove down Milford Hill through the green traffic lights at its junction with Rampart Road, to be confronted by the sight of a matronly figure astride her bicycle, clearly having cycled through red traffic lights on Rampart Road, appearing from my left and cycling on down Milford Street.

The cyclist had a most fixed and determined expression on her face, paid no attention whatsoever to the fact she had placed herself in mortal danger and neither did she consider or react to the helpful words of advice I volunteered to her on the subject of obeying traffic signals.

I was forced to take avoiding action to prevent colliding with the cyclist, which set me to considering that, had I indeed done so, it would have been extremely difficult for me to convince the local constabulary that I was indeed in the right, especially in the current climate of cyclist activism that seems to take it as a given that any motor vehicle driver in collision with a cyclist is naturally at fault.

Following the sale of Salisbury Police Station, I would venture to suggest that the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police or the Policing Commissioner, whoever happens to be in charge at the moment, might consider investing some of the proceeds in a couple of appropriately equipped bicycles.

The bicycles could then be mounted by suitably-trained police officers who could be usefully employed in patrolling the roads of central Salisbury during rush hours and issuing penalty notices to errant cyclists who seem to think that traffic signals are simply the council’s way of making the roads look pretty.

The additional and useful side effect of this action would be that the citizens of Salisbury would actually see real live police officers moving around the city other than behind the wheel of a police car racing hither and thither.

RP Scott,

Laverstock