Cyclists shouldn’t swerve their responsibility to other road users

Sir, – Dr Ola Løkken Nordrum (Letters, February 7th) says “we should be designing environments where a 10-year-old can cycle safely to and from school, wearing whatever they want, and not forcing people to dress like construction workers if they want to cycle”.

While I agree that enforcing speed limits and improving cycling infrastructure are fundamentally important, that doesn’t absolve cyclists (I commute daily by bike myself) from playing their own role in reducing the number and gravity of accidents.

It is not to indulge in “deflection” or “victim blaming” to recognise that cyclists also have responsibilities towards other road users. One of them is to be as visible as possible.

Pending the advent of a kind of cycling nirvana where motorists always drive carefully and segregated cycle lanes cater for every possible journey, being aware of the difficulties of other road users in seeing you and donning a fluorescent vest or similar when light conditions are poor does really not seem a big imposition. – Yours, etc,