FROM the amount of space in the letters pages of the Oxford Mail dedicated to pointing out what a nuisance cyclists are, you would think that every cyclist in Oxford is a hooligan.

Car drivers write that we are a scourge, taking space from cars, not hugging close enough to the kerb, weaving in and out of lines of cars, jumping lights.

Pedestrians write about how they can’t hear us approaching, how we cut them up, and how we cause danger to them on pavements.

Somehow we are perceived as a single homogeneous group, existing in a grey zone, literally in the gutter, at the margin, an outsider, not of the mainstream, a bit unbalanced.

Cyclists though are a diverse group, just as drivers are, and it is the behaviours of the few that colour perceptions of us a whole group. In recognition of this, the Oxford cycle campaign group Cyclox launched a Rights and Responsibilities campaign (see On Yer Bike, November 8) to remind people in the city of what they should be able to expect from other road users and what other road users should be able to expect from them. It adopts the principle that all of us need to be considerate and respectful of each other, and we all need to obey the Highway Code.

Consideration and respect requires understanding and social interaction between us humans, and that got me thinking about the importance of eye contact between road users.

As a cyclist, making eye contact with a car or truck driver has been seen typically as a safety issue. The advice is that if you can see the driver’s eyes in their mirror or through the window, then they can see you and won’t make a dangerous turn across your path.

But eye contact is much more than safety, it is also the basis of our social interactions. Interactions between road users tend to be about avoiding physical contact, keeping a safe distance, signaling intentions, and the odd angry outburst when these are breached.

There are though plenty of opportunities for positive social interactions of road users. And if you are on your bike it is easy to make eye contact.

When on my bike I have to be on the lookout for potholes and anticipate the unpredictable behaviours of other road users. But I am also able to thank drivers who stop to let me across a crossing, to stop to chat to friends who are passing by, and to talk through the windows to car drivers when they are stationary.

I have started making a particular effort on my cycle rides to make connection with other people using roads or pavements. I am trying to catch the eye of those other road users, to greet them or thank them if they have stopped for me. It is an easy thing to do and costs me nothing, and I hope that those with whom I manage to make eye contact won’t put fingers to keyboard to write a letter to this newspaper with yet more complaints.