MY father is nearly 80 and has cycled at least three times a week for the past 70 years. He has always been fond of the bicycle but I’ve noted his concern increase in the past ten years.

He is too proud to say it publicly himself so I will say it for him: driving standards have deteriorated significantly over the years he has ridden.

A recent story he told me about involved him riding through the Totton area. A driver drew close to his right side with the window down and insisted he ‘ride on the bleeping pavement’. My father politely objected, and said driver cut in front and slammed the brakes on, I believe to try to throw him from his bicycle. This was on an empty road at 9am on a Sunday.

Had he been on the pavement then he would have broken the law.

The driver, he said, was mere inches from my father when he drew parallel – this is too close.

I really do feel it is about time the police and the public joined together and fought behaviour like this.

We all have to share the roads and angry replies to this paper along the lines of ‘but cyclists do this, and do that’ do nothing other than distract from the very real concerns about road safety.

Drivers in Southampton (and more widely the UK) never used to be like this and it’s time we changed.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED.