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Cycle sensibly

The report “Cyclist’s warning after crossing crash” (SA August 8) confirmed my opinion that an incident of this type was inevitable. I also believe the occurrence of a similar incident in Swindon is a certainty.

It was reported, “cyclist Wayne Smith was almost killed when he was knocked off his bike at a pedestrian crossing”. He had made a split-second decision to jump the red man warning light at the crossing on Thamesdown Drive and was hit by a motorcycle. It was such a serious crash that the road was closed for several hours.

It is fortunate that “the motorcyclist was okay” and hopefully Mr Smith will make a full recovery. This incident could have been so much worse for Mr Smith. Imagine if instead of a motorcycle he had been hit by a lorry.

The Highway Code states, “Rules for Cyclists, Crossing the road, 79 Do not ride across equestrian crossings, as they are for horse riders only. Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across.”

I have witnessed numerous cyclists going through red lights. I have also seen numerous cyclists approach pedestrian crossings on footpaths, which they shouldn’t be riding on, and cross without dismounting. Often, due to lack of warning by and the excessive speed of some cyclists, unsuspecting drivers are given very little time to react.

PC Jay Clifton who went to the crash gave a poignant summary of this incident saying, “People think they can just make it before the lights change and the traffic starts moving. Often people get away with it by just missing the traffic, but sometimes they judge it wrongly and the consequences can be serious or even fatal. It’s just not worth the risk.”

Apart from endangering life this type of needless incident puts unnecessary strain on the NHS and emergency services. It can also create a huge inconvenience for hundreds if not thousands of people.

In my opinion it is far too easy for anyone to acquire a bike and ride it without thought and recklessly. I believe the relevant authorities should be taking a proactive approach to ensure cyclists take a greater sense of responsibility for their actions. They should also take a much more proactive approach towards enforcing the rules and regulations set out in the Highway Code.

It is in everyone’s interest to live in a safer environment.

K Kane, Wharf Road, Wroughton

It’s about time

AT LAST, the government is actually considering riding a bicycle dangerously as a offence. About time too.

What happened to me was in no way as serious as what has happened to other people. But while I worked at the BBC , I attended a meeting at Broadcasting House in London. A few yards from its doorway there is a street which on this morning was heaving with traffic trying to get out on to Portland Place.

As I crossed the road, a bike rider came out between two stationary vehicles and collided with me on the right side. It threw me back and the rider did not even stop to see if I had been injured but rode off without a backward glance.

So let’s hope the government does not spend a lot of time considering, but puts the idea in to law.

Alan Thompson, Former press officer, BBC Wiltshire Sound

Be honest with us

I’m a season ticket holder at Swindon Town. We are only a few games into the season and it’s already a depressing situation.

If the playing budget is coming to its limit then I would like Lee Power to tell us, the fans, the truth. For once and for all just be honest with us.

Every club in League 2 has ambitions for promotion. If our finances dictate otherwise then Lee Power should come out and say so. In other words, it’s his ambition but realistically it may not be achievable. At least we’d know where the club stands, whether we like it or not.

At the moment Phil Brown appears to be the PR man for Lee Power. I’m convinced he is the right manager for this club but the way things are looking, then for how much longer?

I’m really worried about my club and where we will be come next May.

The way Lee Power deals with player recruitment is both poor in timing and always on the cheap. By that I mean no summer purchases. In the last two close seasons everything has been left to the last minute and then in desperation we turn to the loan market.

In my opnion, we are now being run like a non-league side, never seen before in the history of Swindon Town Football Club. More worryingly, non-league football could soon become reality rather than promotion back to League 1.

I just wish Lee Power would come out and tell us what the situation actually is, rather than leading us up the garden path and stringing us along. I really worry where the club is heading with him as chairman. The sooner he goes the better.

Alan Wilson, Shapwick Close, Nythe

They threw it all away

Did anyone see BBC 4 on Wednesday night? There was a great programme on about British Rail.

Remember it? It built some of the best trains in the world . And for the most part they worked. And as this is Swindon we should be interested, because at one time we had one of the finest rngineering works dedicated to designing and building locomotives and carriages, transporting the public to go just about anywhere in the country.

This programme outlined just how good it was. The Old British Rail 125 train is still in service today and it was designed some 50 years ago. And yes it is still giving great service.

We also designed and built the Advanced Passenger Train. It had a tilting mechanism that worked and allowed for high speed and safe journeys. It was successful, the basis of the trains we are purchasing from Japan today. They didnt design it, they copied our design.

Why and how did the railways get into the poor position that they are in today? It was politicians - no vision and no common sense. We were cheaper than any railway in Europe and in most cases a lot better. But the politicos lost faith and got very scared of something they didn’t understand. British Rail was, according to the experts one of the most successful transport engineering companies in the Western World. And these politicos threw it all away.

David Collins, Blake Crescent, Swindon

It’s just not funny

Boris Johnson’s comments were a cynical attempt to gain brownie points in a Conservative party saturated with racism. He knows he can rely on the support of a mass media which daily pours out anti Muslim bile. The “it’s just a bit of a laugh” defence won’t do.

Racist “humour” always looks different to its victims. Many years ago, a DJ on Australian radio told some “jokes” about immigrants to Australia from Britain based on a stereotype, apparently then current, that British people weren’t that good at washing. The British media, especially the “it’s just a laugh” wing, frothed and demanded he be sacked.

K Kane argues Johnson’s comments are just satire. He says we are free to challenge religion. Yes, we are but that is not the same as singling people out for abuse. None of the examples he uses were about singling out Christians as dangerous outsiders. None of them led to people being harassed when out and about except the anti-Semitic stereotype about Jews and money which Mr Kane approvingly mentions and should certainly be challenged today. Anti Irish jokes originated when anti Irish racism was being used to divide us. Anti-black jokes went alongside window signs saying no “Irish, dogs or blacks” and footballers like Cyrille Regis having to face down terrible racism on the terraces.

Satire and sadism are different things.

Peter Smith, Woodside Avenue, Swindon