C DELF'S letter seems to imply that all motorcyclists are suicidal lunatics (May 21).

I would like to suggest that he/she go to a local motorcycle training centre, take a CBT test then go on to pass his/her full motorcycle test and go for a ride out on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

I would suspect after doing this he/she would have a different opinion of bikers and "Arrive Alive" and similar campaigns such as the police's "Bikesafe" scheme.

Some motorcyclists do ride like idiots but it is only a small minority and exactly the same can be said of car drivers.

Take away the minority of irresponsible bike riders and you are left with a group of skilled riders concentrating on machine control and aware of what is going on around them.

Any schemes which raise driver awareness have to be encouraged as they could save lives, not only of bikers but other car drivers and pedestrians.

Mat Barker,

Huttons Ambo,

York.

Updated: 09:35 Saturday, May 25, 2002