Sir – Richard Mann claims “there’s no evidence that driving closer to cyclists is dangerous”. Anyone else can see that if a car driver at a junction disregards the closeness of an approaching cyclist in a main road before pulling out, the cyclist will have too little distance in which to avert a collision.

Seventy two per cent of Oxfordshire’s cycle casualties are at junctions but most vehicles already emerge from a side turning at low speed, so 20mph limits will reduce neither the frequency nor the severity of casualties.

Sixty eight per cent of Oxfordshire’s cycle casualties are on main roads, half of which in Oxford are still 30mph. Most of the new 20mph limits are on minor roads where casualties were already minimal, so the new limits are mere gimmickry.

Oxford has more cycle casualties than the rest of Oxfordshire combined. The majority of Oxford’s cyclists are their own worst enemy, but Thames Valley Police’s enforcement seems to focus on stopping lots of cyclists for about one hour in one street in central Oxford once in a blue moon.

This gains headlines but does not increase compliance with the law. I often see cyclists ride illegally past officers who take no action: for example during the daytime ban in Queen Street.

Fines are costly to administer and do not re-educate offenders. Thames Valley Police diverts many motoring offenders from prosecution by offering them a day’s retraining for which they must pay. Unsafe cyclists should be treated likewise.

Cyclists who lack the confidence to ride correctly in traffic need support and training. The Greater London Authority’s “Cycle Fridays” for people to gain confidence by cycling to work in conducted groups has attracted only a few hundred participants. However, such a scheme might be more attractive, popular and effective in a city the size of Oxford.

Hugh Jaeger, Oxford