Jonathan Jones – journalism student

A LOT has been written about cyclists this week. With police chiefs contemplating bicycle number plates to stop dangerous cyclists.

I do not think they are the real issue.

As a man who has never learnt to ride a bike I am unlikely to be accused of bias towards cyclists.

But in my experience the biggest danger on the roads are the cars that are stuck behind them.

As I drove home from work the other day I was nearly hit by another car attempting to overtake a cyclist.

There was nothing behind me. There was no reason for him to overtake until after I had passed.

Yet the impatient driver (stronger words were used at the time) decided they were too important to wait and came veering onto my side of the road, forcing me to swerve in order to avoid a collision.

This is not the first time this has happened either.

As well as this, drivers are also overtaking cyclists a lot closer to them than they should.

When my girlfriend or I are driving, one of our biggest pet hates is cars that overtake cyclists without giving them a lot of room. Why do they do it? What does this achieve? If there is not enough room to give them a wide berth then wait.

Yes I understand cyclists are a pain on the road and no driver has ever been pleased to be stuck behind one, but there is no need for idiotic driving. You’re not that important.