Sir, – A week past Friday at 15.35 the fog was thick and visibility poor when I came across a pack of six club cyclists riding three abreast while on the A904 trunk road to South Queensferry.
They deliberately took up the whole of the road.
Soon there was a tailback of about 15 vehicles but they refused to come out of their pack formation and into single file leaving spaces so that they could be safely overtaken.
At one wider section they deliberately changed into a four abreast formation.
They arrived at South Queensferry having hogged the road for miles with smiles on their faces.
The Highway Code recommends that on such roads, cyclists should travel in single file with gaps in between.
This sort of conduct makes the need for cyclists to have a registration number even more urgent but, in the meantime, cycling clubs should tell members to abide by the spirit of the Highway Code as opposed to going out of their way to antagonise motorists.
Clark Cross.
138 Springfield Road.
Linlithgow.
Park on correct side of streets
Sir, – My bruises are beginning to fade and are less painful.
Crutches are a reminder too and all because vans were parked on the right-hand side of Oakbank Crescent in Perth where neither of their drivers could see my bicycle coming down the left-hand side of the road.
Parking on the right means, of course, that the driver is on the kerbside of the road and unable to see any vehicle approaching from behind.
As my bike was approaching, a van pulled out. It was an accident set up to happen.
Now, I do have disc brakes on my bike and they are effective but they won’t stop me in such a very short distance, especially cycling downhill.
I don’t suppose the van driver knew I was close behind his van as he pulled out into the middle of the road.
He would not have been able to see any vehicle coming down the hill because he had parked on the right-hand side.
I swerved into a side road to try to avoid a collision but the heavy braking meant I wobbled and came down on the road with a loud bang.
The noise brought people out of their homes to help me to my feet and to a safer place.
I am very grateful for that speedy and kind assistance and to PRI for their kindly treatment and for their operation to screw my broken bones together.
These days, there are lots of delivery vans circulating on our suburban roads. Their drivers are under the cosh to get their deliveries done.
Perhaps this is why it is tempting to park even where they won’t be able to see other road users, and especially bicycles, as they try to pull away from the kerb.
Better rear-view mirrors or even cameras might help them avoid future calamities.
It is even better to avoid parking on the right of the street.
Andrew Dundas.
34 Ross Avenue,
Perth.
Will council tax payers get say?
Sir, – I see Dundee City Council had a consultation with tenants regarding how much their rent should rise in the coming year.
The council has now agreed with the 59% of tenants who selected the lowest of the given options.
I wonder if the council intends to carry out a similar consultation with its council tax payers before setting the budget for the coming year?
David Smith.
Strathmartine Road,
Dundee.
Go against EIS advice
Sir, – I was impressed when Nicola Sturgeon proclaimed that driving up the attainment level of Scottish pupils would be her defining mission and gave the task to John Swinney.
Her heart was in the right place because Mr Swinney is, by a very considerable margin, her most able colleague but any serious reform is going to be opposed by the teaching unions.
My years in education led me to conclude that any initiative resisted by the likes of the EIS should be implemented because it is almost certainly in the best interests of the children.
Reform starts with pin-pointing our best and worst schools, so bending to union pressure and watering down national testing to assess our schools undermines the whole process.
Dr John Cameron.
10 Howard Place,
St Andrews.
Correcting the record
Sir, – As the “other Auchtermuchty councillor” I must correct my friend Charles Henderson who stated in his letter that I spent time with police identifying roads deep in soil because I’ve never done that.
I have advised Fife Council’s transportation service when there’s been one of our Howe sandstorms and I have also been out with the police on various occasions to look at rural crime and speeding and other matters but the twain have never met.
Andy Heer.
53 Burnside,
Auchtermuchty.
Trident missile hacking fear
Sir, – The disturbing news of Trident’s failed test leaves one to hope that the guidance software for that system has not been hacked.
If a member of the public, although with mental problems, can hack into America’s defences, then surely another major country with its resources can achieve the same. What greater defence than being able to divert weapons aimed at you to your enemy, forcing them to abort their attack?
Leslie Milligan.
18b Myrtlehall Gardens,
Dundee.
Bills will go to oil companies
Sir, – I write with reference to Colin Cookson’s letter, Hidden bill of oil shutdown.
My understanding is that oil platforms in the Scottish sector of the North Sea are the property of the oil companies, which would be responsible for the costs for the decommissioning and not the taxman.
Bill Malcolm.
1 John Street,
Kirkcaldy.
Natural causes of warming
Sir, – Again we have allegations that the previous year was the hottest on record.
Greenhouse gas levels may play some part in global temperatures but there’s strong evidence that many other forces play their part too.
These include plate tectonics, ocean circulations and oscillations, changes in the earth’s orbit including perihelion and interplanetary dust to name just a few.
Any of these can have warming influences or cooling influences.
I do not accept the claim that 90% of the warming is due to greenhouse gases.
Geoff Moore.
23 Braeface Park,
Alness.
