Sir – In your letters page last week, Brian Wallis suggested that if only cyclists could be trained to behave better there would be fewer deaths and injuries.

It is an attractively simple idea but, alas, based on a false assumption.

Even if cyclists in Oxfordshire were to venture out clad in full body armour, lit up like Christmas trees and clutching their advanced cycling diplomas there would be no discernible effect on accident rates.

This is because most accidents are not caused by stupid motorists or cyclists (a few are, of course) but are, well . . . accidents. As long as people on bicycles are obliged to share roads with large, fast-moving lumps of metal, there will be big problems. Mr Wallis can easily see his theory disproved by taking the short trip to The Netherlands where he will find millions of cyclists of all ages behaving in ways which would make his hair stand on end: they rarely use lights, put their babies in boxes strapped crudely on their bikes, ride while speaking on their phones and never, ever use helmets.

And no, there are no cycling schools. Surely there must be carnage on the Dutch roads! Why do Dutch grandmothers behave this way? Why do Dutch parents send their children out on their bikes almost before they can walk? Why do so many Dutch people prefer to commute to work on their bike leaving the car in the garage? Because they feel safe. And in fact they really are safe — the rate of accidents involving cyclists in The Netherlands is a small fraction of that which we suffer in the UK. They are safe because cyclists are separated from motor traffic and as a result cycling is widely popular. There is nothing in the Dutch genes which predisposes them to ride bikes and The Netherlands is not much flatter than most of this county. Our county council has for many years failed to invest adequately in safe facilities for cyclists — they think that by painting a few white lines at random on pavements they have done enough.

As a result, cyclists are not safe even if they behave perfectly and many people who might otherwise choose to cycle on short journeys understandably stay in their cars, resulting in even more traffic jams. A classic own goal!

David Dixon, Oxford