I never had a bell. I just shouted at pedestrians who wandered into the road in front of me. And if I passed them from behind while they were walking along the road I would pat them on the arm and say "hello". See, I'm consistent.

Licensing. From a car driver's point of view, I think it's rather like paying to go to a pop concert and then seeing people climbing in through the fence for free. You don't go out of your way to be nice to them. But cyclists do need car drivers to go out of their way to be nice to them. I think it would be safer for pedestrians as well, as the police would bother to stop cyclists more, as there would be proper penalities. I also think cyclists having the same status as drivers and bikers would help change the mindset of cycling into something more adult. The current mindset of many cyclists is pretty childish.

With regard to that, CD, I think the 12-year-old I saw on the road in Dulwich (no cycle path) was more of an adult than the 40-year-old on the pavement (right next to a cycle path).

What pavement cyclists have done is to bring the road onto the pavement. Now we have to be continually watching out, not just for each other, but for actual road vehicles. What the &$%! are they even doing there?! That's a one-way intrusion into our lives. It's bad manners. That's mainly why I object. It's no good telling me I shouldn't mind. It would be like me coming and setting up a deckchair on your front lawn and telling you you shouldn't be offended. Except that with pavement cycling there is also a risk of injury, and occasionally seriously so.

I'm sure IWAF doesn't hate blind people, but I don't think he's terribly bothered about them either. Personally, I found that piece really shocking.

We're not going to agree on the need for licencing, or whether it would make any difference, but I don't see the problem about it being workable. The simplest version would be for cyclists to have to have a one-off licence, like everyone else. If they're stopped for something by the police, then they have to produce their licence (on the spot or in 7 days). The case would go to court and they'd get points deducted. Too many points, licence withdrawn. And get caught cycling without a valid licence - big trouble. Just like everyone else on the road.