I’D like to respond to the letter by Hugo Petty.

What gives cyclists any right to be on the road when they don’t pay road tax and don’t have insurance?

And why do cyclists feel the need to break red lights or cut on to the path to miss them? Cut you up at junctions? Hit your wing mirrors and ride off ? The need to ride 3ft off the kerb? Ride on the road even though a cycle path is provided and clearly signposted? Why ride/wait in the middle of the road when turning right?

I have had a couple of occasions now where I’ve also been turning right with my indicator on yet a bike will clearly see this and risk itself by sitting in front of me. Surely anyone with half a brain or courtesy would think ‘that car is turning right I won’t sit in front of it because it has an engine, therefore is able to pull away faster than me’?

I’m sorry, and I know not every cyclist is to blame, but you always remember the minority.

ROSS ANSELL, Southampton.

Editor's note: Motorists do not pay road tax. The road network is paid for by general taxation and not by Vehicle Excise Duty (the tax disc in a car windscreen) which relates to the size of an engine and the amount of pollution it produces. Legally, cyclists and pedestrians have as much right to the roads as drivers.