I frequently have my ear bent about the behaviour of other cyclists. It's as if by being a cycling advocate, I am somehow responsible for other cyclists' behaviour. Admittedly, not all cyclists always obey all the laws of the road, but the same is true of drivers.

I think auditing the misdeameanours of cyclists and drivers could be a new game to play on my work commute. I wonder if breaking the Highway Code is more prevalent in the morning when everyone seems to be rushing to get to work but full of disgust at the prospect?

Or is it the evening rush hour when the smell of dinner and the thought of getting horizontal on the couch is just too much to bear?

This evening, on the way home from work, I saw about 20 cars. Of these, two were hovering on double yellow lines, three drivers were talking on their mobiles and two were speeding. In comparison, there were about 12 cyclists and of these, one cycled on an empty pavement for a couple of yards. That was the total tally of cyclist wrongdoings. I do try to resist moaning about motorists - unfortunately, they're sitting ducks, often quite literally sitting in a traffic queue. Driving a car on your daily commute must be incredibly stressful - I'm guessing that sitting in traffic queues is fairly bad for the blood pressure.

Commuters sitting in a car are breathing air of a much poorer quality than that outside the car. Sounds harmless? Well, air quality standards specifically for vehicles are being set in China where the poor air quality in a car was cited in a recent lawsuit. That lovely new car smell that people seem to like? Volatile organic compounds to you and me - a lovely little pollutant linked to asthma. Thank goodness for European Car Free day. Celebrating this day should really get people thinking about their car use. If people are encouraged to try to reduce their car use, it could be the start of something much bigger.

Changing people's habits is a big deal. Fortunately, there are those who are easily converted - in fact, get them on a bike for a day and they're off. It really can be that simple. On the flip side, there are those who have no wish to be converted, can't see the value in even cutting down their car use and are just not interested. If you are nodding at this, try out the following website: http://cuttingyourcaruse.co.uk/costs.htm A handy spreadsheet can tell you exactly how much your car costs you, so you can work out how much you can save. I know there are plenty of reasons why people have to drive - I just don't buy that there need to be as many cars clogging up our streets as there are. If thinking about changing your daily commute from a car is just too horrendous, use the tried and tested problem solving technique - break it up into pieces.

Oxford is extremely well served with park-and-ride sites so you may have to drive to the outskirts of Oxford, but once there, you can hop on a bus or a bike or even just walk. Less stressful, more environmentally friendly and good for your health - how often can you say that about ideas these days?