I’ve started to mither about how and when I will die. These morbid thoughts are not prompted by my advanced years – although I turn 45 in a fortnight – but by Cycling.

I am STILL in a temporary place in Garsington and commuting to downtown Cowley Road. It’s been 10 weeks and we’re desperate to move back home, but Bob (his real name) the builder will not be rushed. “The house will be ready when it’s ready” is his mantra.

The commute is a boon to my fitness but I honestly don’t think I can do it much longer without coming a cropper.

You’d think the section within the ring road is the dangerous bit. It’s congested and the drivers are grumpy. The hot weather made them worse. I’ve nearly been knocked off twice when drivers pulled out suddenly and without looking.

The other half of the commute, between the Bullnose Morris and Garsington, is the nice bit on the face of it. It’s only a mile or two and has nice views as you head out of town. It’s a narrow country road but with low traffic and cars always gave me room and pass slowly enough. A hi-vis jacket and very bright lights made me feel safer.

But in the past few weeks, dozens of apparently undiscovered Jeremy Clarksons have seized the road, blasting along it with no regard to walkers and cyclists.

You can hear them change up the gears to attain warp speed. It’s a horrible feeling. In the seconds before each car passes, I tense up and imagine them slamming into the back of me. Being shunted at 60–70mph would spell instant death, and how easily it can happen. Only two weeks ago, Joe Wilkins was killed while cycling between Appleton and Cumnor. On Eaton Road, a long straight hill with no side-junctions or distractions, a car ran him over from behind. It’s horrible, appalling.

I had always thought a driver would turn across me at a junction or open a door into my face. I’d never anticipated being hit from the rear.

The closing speed of a vehicle is slower from behind so drivers have time to spot you. At night, any car’s headlights will pick up hi-vis clothing hundreds of metres away.

How do these tail-end collisions happen? Whatever the cause, it’s high time drivers learnt to pass cyclists slowly and with lots of space.

Don’t get me wrong, I drive at 60 along the road to Garsington too. But when I pass a cyclist I slow right down and take the whole of the other carriageway to pass. This is courteous and safe, and should be standard practice whenever drivers overtake cyclists.

Bob the builder and chums love winding me up. Their favourite bugbear is cyclists riding two-abreast. I tell them cyclists should ride two-abreast as that makes vehicles overtake properly (and slowly) using the other side of the road. Cycling in a long thin line, or too near the kerb, gives drivers too much space to overtake: they can go faster and, if traffic is coming in the opposite direction, too close.

Sure, it might look like two-abreast is selfish and in your way, but drivers should pass a single cyclist or a pair the same – slowly and with plenty of space.