CP ATKINSON asserts that “cyclists do not pay tax” (D&S Times, May 26). Of course they do. County councils, funded by council tax, maintain minor roads. Trunk roads are maintained by central government, and funded by income tax, VAT, and a range of other duties.

One way or another, like everyone else in the country except the very rich, cyclists pay tax.

About 90 per cent of cyclists are also car owners, so they also pay the car taxes that CP Atkinson might have been thinking about. Cyclists have as much right as car drivers to use the roads we all pay for.

CP Atkinson mistakenly asserts that the Highway Code says cyclists should ride in single file. The relevant rule, 66, says that cyclists should “never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends”.

The Highway Code also includes several rules about how drivers should treat cyclists.

Rule 163: “Give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.”

Rule 211: “Look out for motorcyclists and cyclists at junctions.”

Rule 212: “When passing motorcyclists and cyclists, give them plenty of room.”

Despite this advice, there were 125 cycling fatalities in the UK in 2016, the majority of which were caused by collisions with motor vehicles.

I hope that CP Atkinson agrees that the risk of death or injury to a cyclist is a more serious matter than the inconvenience of having to slow down and wait a few moments for the opportunity to overtake cyclists safely.

Dave Dalton, Richmond