Sir – In the UK, motorcyclists are not allowed to use cycle lanes or advanced stop lines (ASLs). They may use bus lanes in Aylesbury, Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh, London, Newcastle, Plymouth, Reading and some lanes in Birmingham, but none in Oxford.

Letting motorcyclists use bus lanes cuts casualties, journey times and emissions, without notably increasing risks for other road users. Motorcyclists have to be told to use bus lanes safely. If the car lane is congested, a car driver may let a vehicle in or out of a side turning, which then suddenly crosses the bus lane. Motorcyclists must moderate their speed, assume no other road user has seen them, and be ready to stop for other road users.

Several southeast Asian countries have motorcycle-only lanes. In Malaysia their introduction cut casualties by nearly 40%.

Two London boroughs have experimented with letting motorcyclists use ASLs: Newham in 2003 and Kingston-upon-Thames in 2009.

Too many car drivers encroach ASLs, blocking them before the first cyclist arrives. We lack enforcement. Letting motorcyclists use ASLs could help, as a motorcycle arriving before the first cyclist could deter encroachment by drivers.

Caroline Pond (Letters, April 23) indiscriminately attacks motorcycles as “unnecessarily loud” and riders as “often intimidating cyclists with aggressive revving and… exhaust fumes”. This is as false as claiming all pedal cyclists ride through red traffic signals, on the pavement, or the wrong way along one-way streets.

Most motorcyclists waiting at junctions leave their engine to tick over. Motorcycles made since 2007 meet greatly reduced EU emission limits. Legal silencers are limited to 82 decibels and kite-marked. A minority of riders fit illegal silencers, but police too seldom stop and penalise them.

Oxfordshire has about 15,000 motorcyclists, all paying road tax, all vulnerable on the road. They deserve civility, not Ms Pond’s over-generalised condemnation.

Hugh Jaeger
Oxfordshire Area Representative
bmf British Motorcyclists’ Federation