Road users should respect each other (From York Press)

Road users should respect each other

2:55pm Thursday 1st November 2012 in Letters By Reader's letter

SECTION 163 of the Highway Code reads “give cyclists at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car”, while 165 states you must not overtake if it would mean entering an area designed to divide traffic.

Apparently the driver of the VW Golf who overtook me on Askham Lane, leaving less than 30cm of space between his rear bumper and my front wheel as he violently swerved in to avoid hitting the traffic island, has forgotten this rule.

I was behind him all the way to Morrisons car park, where he seemed confused when I confronted him for driving in a careless/dangerous manner, saying he thought he had “shed-loads of room”.

Then there is a cycle track on Water End Bridge. It is clearly marked Cycles Only and yet every time I use it I have to work my way past a pedestrian illegally using the lane.

My day was topped off by having a minicab overtake me at 40mph on the blind bend in Huntington Road, near Park Grove. It came so close it brushed the sleeve of my coat.

Blanket 20mph restrictions will not improve safety for cyclists while such dangerous motorists are on the road.

I ride on the road or on cycle lanes where directed. I use lights at night and I stop at red traffic lights.

All I ask in return is to be treated with respect from motorists.

Name and address supplied