ROB DERRY is on the steering group of Swindon Bicycle Users' Group, which aims to represent cyclists in and around Swindon.

THERE was a recent discussion point which supported the concept of confiscating the bikes of cyclists who break the law.

In theory that sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

However, we don’t do it for motor vehicles, in general, so why is there a proposal that we should do it for bikes?

I’m not for one minute supporting people who ride around with either no knowledge of, or no concern for, the law of the land.

On the road, you should obey the rules of the road and you should cycle in a considerate manner on shared paths and cycle paths.

I am genuinely at a loss to try and understand why so many people think the presence of bicycles and their riders are such a menace.

For most people, their first bike was their first taste of freedom – it allowed them to explore the local area as kids.

Cycling is a great way to get some exercise, especially important when we hear reports about the obesity levels in this country.

Cycling is an environmentally-friendly way to get around; again this is important given the recent poor air quality problems currently being experienced in towns and cities all around the world.

Very few accidents between cyclists and other road users result in the other user being injured (or worse) or having their property seriously damaged.

Accident statistics also show that the majority of accidents involving cyclists are not the fault of the cyclist.

On top of that bicycles don’t cause damage to the highway in the way that heavier vehicles do.

For every cyclist that is making a journey, that is one less car on the road meaning less pollution, less congestion, fewer deaths, fewer serious injuries and fewer potholes.

So maybe, instead of confiscating bikes from cyclists, we hand out bikes to people who break the law in their cars?