Sir, - According to Paddy Monahan (November 21st) appalling cycling conditions and poor surface quality are responsible for what I can only describe as the kamikaze behaviour of the vast majority of cyclists. Surely cycling conditions and surface quality cannot be held responsible for the following:
1. Cycling apparel which veers from murky brown to Stygian black. Wanda the Witch would be easier to detect on a cloudy night in deepest November.
2. The almost total lack of any illumination. I can only presume that this means that cyclists reserve flashing lights for their Christmas trees.
3. Hand signals, if any, of a non-directional variety. Surely, an indication of right/left orientation is not beyond the capacity of most cyclists.
4. Colour blindness. Red traffic lights appear to have an effect similar to that of a red cloth on an enraged bull.
5. Visual discrimination and literacy skills are areas also needing urgent attention if the actions of cyclists who insist on going up one-way streets the wrong way are anything to go by.
Of course there are some motorists whose behaviour can cause one to wonder whether they should be relegated to steering wheelbarrows to internalise some elementary spatial skills, but their number is vastly exceeded (proportionally) by cyclists whose antics are such that tricycles and padded cells immediately spring to mind - both for their own safety and the safety of others!
The usual argument propounded by cyclists is that car drivers don't understand the plight of the cyclist. This doesn't apply in my case since my only mode of transport is a bike, which I use daily for a round trip of 16 miles through the city.
The only logical conclusion that I can come to, when confronted daily with the litany of above abuses, is that the Celtic Tiger has spawned an unusual concoction of hara-kiri α bicyclette. Either that, or large numbers of cyclists have adapted Orwell's theory to their own advantage (four wheels good, two wheels better), exempting them from any road rules at all. - Yours, etc.,
Aileen Hooper, Norseman Place, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7.