Cycling and why old-fashioned bells must now be mandatory on all bicycles

Should bells be mandatory on all bicycles?

YP Letters: Bike bells a matter of courtesy not compulsion

MY sister, who is 84 and slightly hard of hearing, regularly  walks her dog and lives in Grassington.

She obviously has to walk  part of the way on the narrow Dales roads with dry stone  walls in order to get into  the woods or down to the  river.

'Cycle rage' has been reported in Grassington.

She, and many other  walkers, are increasingly terrified of silent cyclists  who appear out of nowhere and flash past, causing unnecessary fear.

May I please ask all responsible cyclists to have an old-fashioned bell on their bikes or, if they prefer, an electronic klaxon?

Just something/anything to alert pedestrians they are coming.

Indeed, to make matters worse, my sister had an incident the other morning whereby she did not hear two cyclists coming and as they swept past she kindly said ‘Could you please get a bell?’

One turned round, gesticulated with his fist and  said words that caused great offence.

This is not how we expect our visitors to behave and she was dreadfully upset for many hours afterwards.

Always one moron in the barrel! The majority are usually polite.