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Telegraph

It will take more than the threat of harsher sentences to tackle antisocial cycling

SIR – I am pleased that dangerous cyclists will be subject to harsher penalties (' Cyclists face life in prison for killing pedestrians ', report, April 25). This move is long overdue. However, more needs to be done. On Thursday, while I was queuing at a red traffic light, a cyclist simply ignored it and shot through, disregarding the stationary traffic. Without a proficiency test, insurance, registration plates or even (in many cases) a bell, such people will continue to be a menace on our roads. Nigel Williams Aston Rowant, Oxfordshire SIR – I welcome the proposed changes to the penalties for causing death by dangerous cycling. These are entirely compatible with the desire of Chris Boardman, the former Olympic gold medal-winner, that no one should be put off cycling. To imply that deterring cyclists from breaking the law – which they do whenever they go through a red light, or cycle on pavements or around pedestrians on zebra crossings – is somehow an obstacle to responsible and considerate cycling is counterintuitive and ultimately counterproductive. In memory of Kim Briggs and other victims of dangerous cycling, and in recognition of the risk that those with mobility or visual impairments run every time they cross the road (especially in central London), Mr Boardman should use his powerful voice to warn cyclists that the greatest threat they face is not from the car. It is from a backlash against reckless and illegal cycling behaviours. Lord Shinkwin (Con) London SW1 SIR – The changes to the penalties faced by irresponsible cyclists are long overdue and very welcome. Not surprisingly, Chris Boardman – who is reluctant to place any blame at cyclists' door – opposes the measures. He claims that more people are killed by cows and lightning than by cyclists. Quite possibly – but those deaths are pretty much unavoidable, whereas deaths caused by the reckless behaviour of people on bikes are not. Vincent Hearne Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, France