Sir, – I have noticed a new advertising campaign on the television lately aimed at raising driver-awareness of cyclists.
One morning, as I drove from Dún Laoghaire to Rathgar, I was paying particular attention to cyclists. The schools were out, the weather was glorious and I reckoned there would be lots of folk out on bikes.
Here are some of the things I observed. Five cyclists crossed intersections on the red lights. Three cyclists had MP3-players plugged in their ears. Two cyclists were riding on the footpath, beside a cycle lane. One cyclist overtook another in the cycle lane and swung onto the road. Most cyclists wore high-visibility clothing and helmets – that’s good! Most cyclists did not give signals when turning left or right.
There are now approximately 200 kilometres of cycle lanes in Dublin; and the public bike scheme and bike to work scheme have been rolled out – so cycling is set to increase in popularity.
Would this be an opportune time to send Irish cyclists to traffic school, just like car drivers, and get them licensed and insured to ride? At present bikes cannot be identified by a number plate, nor do they need to have any ID.
If we are going to share the road, then everyone must abide by the laws or it won’t work. Cyclists need to stick to the rules too. – Yours, etc,
ZARA BRADY,
De Vesci Terrace,
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.