YP Comment: Cyclists v cars
THE fact that seven cyclists were killed in West Yorkshire last year more than justifies the police's decision to use undercover officers to identify, and then educate, those motorists whose ignorance and carelessness continues to endanger the lives of other road users.
Public safety demands nothing less, not least on roads like the A660 commuter route in Leeds where a clampdown is planned. Yet it also works both ways as more cyclists take to the roads after being inspired by the Tour de Yorkshire race. For, while motorists should be fined if they flout the Highway Code by ignoring red lights or other established rules of the road, the same principle should also apply to those riders who think they’re above the law.
They’re not. Riders ignoring dedicated cycle lanes, tailgating vehicles or cycling abreast on busy roads are just as inconsiderate, and dangerous, as those motorists who are the target of Operation Safe Pass.