CyclOx should disown lawless cyclists.

I’ve cycled in Oxford for a decade. Thank you for proving the truth: most Oxford cyclists habitually endanger themselves and others.

In September you reported Oxfordshire’s cycle deaths and serious injuries (KSIs) rose “more than 50 per cent in a decade”. In that time most other road casualties in Oxfordshire declined. There was no change in cycle or motor traffic big enough to explain such a significant rise in cycle casualties.

In July 2011, I recorded cyclists in Iffley Road. In one hour, 149 cyclists reached temporary signals for roadworks between Stockmore Street and The Plain: 61.3 per cent disobeyed a red signal. Of these 38.7 per cent rode along the footway; the other 22.6 per cent rode on the carriageway against oncoming one-way traffic.

Even when the signal was green, 26 per cent rode on the pavement instead of the carriageway.

The Oxford Times published my letter stating my results, in which I concluded from those facts: “Most Oxford cyclists are habitual lawbreakers.”

Three months later CyclOx chairman, James Styring, used his Oxford Mail column to attack me: “If you open the paper, all you read is rants against the cyclists. ‘Most Oxford cyclists are habitual lawbreakers’ alleges one.” So truthfulness about cyclists is “ranting”?

James now claims lawbreaking by cyclists “is a harmless crime”. He repeats CyclOx’s policy that they should be allowed to jump some red lights.

Oxford’s many thousand cyclists need representatives mature enough to support the law, respect all road users and disown lawbreaking cyclists. James and his allies fail cyclists, pedestrians and everyone else.

HUGH JAEGER Park Close Oxford