Few would argue that the more people who choose bikes over cars, the better.

We should be proud that Oxford has taken to two wheels with such gusto and - despite some terrfying blackspots - done a lot to accommodate them.

But there is a hard core minority of idiots out there who give cyclists a bad name and openly flout the law, day and night.

We've all seen them: pedalling through red lights, barrelling down one-way streets, riding with no lights and, most commonly, cycling on pavements and in pedestrian zones.

Apart from being rude and inconsiderate, they are putting their safety - and those of others - at grave risk.

What is most galling is that they get away with it in the vast majority of cases.

Of course, our police are overstretched and under-resourced, as well as being burdened with an obscene amount of paperwork.

But this does not excuse what appears to be a blind eye being turned to a growing abuse of the law.

It's time for a sustained and high profile crackdown on this selfish minority and for responsible cyclists to bring some peer pressure to bear upon them.

The alternative is to do nothing - and sit back and wait for someone to be maimed or killed.