As a cyclist you are bound by the same road traffic law as motorists. There are occasions when you may feel you need to infringe a traffic regulation in order to remain safe - you may have a moral right to do so, but the law will not recognise this unless the situation is exceptional. And flagrantly flouting the rules of the road brings cycling into disrepute; furthermore, your actions may irritate a motorist so much that they take it out on the cyclist behind you.

Having said this, we recognise that the poor standards of motor vehicle driving is hardly conducive to cyclists respecting road traffic law, especially as careless or dangerous driving by a motorist will usually have far more potentially serious consequences than the same action by a cyclist.

We want to see higher standards of behaviour and courtesy on the roads from all vehicle users, and suggest that the police could start by setting a good example. It is worrying how frequently police vehicles (when not on an emergency call) fail to indicate, and ignore many other principles and good driving practices laid down in the Highway Code.

This police car was on a routine visit to the Chalk Farm Safeway supermarket, and was parked in this cycle lane for an hour whilst Campaign members were handing out "Drive Safe, Cycle Safe" leaflets (which asks motorists and cyclists to behave courteously on the road).

© Paul Gasson