I wasn’t sure if the rather vitreolic rant in today’s Echo from Steve Symonds (Make cyclists use the lanes) was tongue in cheek or if he really meant it. If he did mean it then I have to hope he doesn’t transfer his feelings into road rage against cyclists.

We are all entitled to use the roads as we all pay tax in one form or another (car tax was abolished in 1937) and many vehicles pay no vehicle excise duty at all (e.g. electric cars).

Mr Symonds uses the term cycle lanes. These are painted lines on the carriageway for cyclists to use in a safe and comfortable space.

I can’t imagine any cyclist would not want to use them and instead cycle in the road itself – as long as the council keep them clear of debris.

Does he mean cycle paths where many of them have sprung up in recent years simply by painting a white line down the centre of existing footways? Many of these were devised to encourage children to cycle for leisure and getting to school. In fact, the Department for Transport Code of Conduct Notice for Cyclists states that if a cyclist is travelling at more than 18mph (30 kph), as many serious cyclists do, then they should be riding on the road in any case.

In society we all have to learn to live together within the law with all our different needs, priorites and responsibilities. Road users are surely no different.

David Webber, Wimborne