Sir, – I'm sure Michael Sheridan will justify his comments about the "snide remarks" from "abusers" on bikes as humour or banter, but they have to be taken in the context of the vast imbalance between motorists and cyclists in their ability to cause physical harm ("Toyota Aygo X: Composed and impressive for its class", Motors, February 9th).
While most motorists are aware of this, anybody who cycles on our roads will be painfully aware that a certain percentage of motorists, either through incompetence or something worse, regard the roads as “theirs” and therefore drive in a way that places cyclists in danger. Unfortunately, our infrastructure and criminal justice system also often fail to take this imbalance into account, with the result that there are very few consequences for this minority of dangerous motorists.
So while we can all identify with the stereotype of the angry cyclist, it might be helpful to recognise that cyclists are just trying to get from one place to another, the same as everybody else, and that the dangers that are currently designed into our roads are very real and not particularly funny. – Yours, etc,
DAVE MATHIESON,
Salthill,
Galway.