Sir, - Eimear Coffey (November 9th) misses the point entirely. The breaking of traffic lights by some cyclists is a red herring. The real issue in this debate is the fact that it is currently unsafe for cyclists on the streets of Dublin.
Dublin Corporation is trying to encourage alternative forms of commuter traffic in order to ease the city's chronic traffic problems. They face many difficulties - the most obvious one being that there are few bicycle lanes in the city centre.
The less obvious challenge is the attitude of drivers, such as Ms Coffey, who think that the whole issue is a joke and are prompted to write sarcastic letters to your paper. If drivers knew how difficult and dangerous it is to be a Dublin city cyclist, they would have a little more respect and leave a little more room to allow cyclists safe passage.
If only one in five drivers cycled to work instead of driving, traffic congestion would be down by 20 per cent. Does that appeal to Dublin motorists? If so, they had better start thinking about how to make it safer for the cyclists around them. - Yours, etc.,
Peter Ingle, Strangford Road, Dublin 3.