Mr Fullbrook’s letter is, no doubt, well-intentioned but the message that comes across is that cyclists should be forced to wear hi-vis jackets so that motor vehicle drivers can continue to speed along dark and narrow lanes concentrating on their mobile phones and sat-navs, rather than their driving (Letters, August 13, ‘Cyclists need hi-vis jackets’).

A Department of Transport research project in 2012 indicated that in 80 per cent of collisions between motor vehicles and 25-plus-year-old cyclists the fault was, either partly or wholly, the motorist’s.

Mr Fullbrook’s suggestion would, therefore, involve penalising the victim of road crime for not taking sufficient precautions to avoid the crime.

If there is a solution to the problem, then it lies in convincing a significant minority of drivers of the reality that they are in charge of a lethal weapon and that it is their responsibility to drive in accordance with the road conditions.

Those conditions include dark, narrow lanes that were originally intended for horses and carts rather than cars, and the presence of an increasing number of cyclists, who have as much right to be there as motor vehicles.

The majority of cyclists already wear bright clothing. During the last few days while out cycling I noted that less than 11 per cent of cyclists were wearing dark clothing and about half of that minority had some reflective patches on their clothing or bikes.

I have, myself, worn hi-vis clothing when cycling for many years but not with any hope that it would protect me from inattentive or impatient motorists. I wear it so that, following a collision, such a driver will have no credible excuse to put before a court.

Howard Bannister

Levens