WIGGINS IN THE NEWS AGAIN.

Now that he has become a fully paid-up sporting celebrity, Bradley Wiggins seems to have started down the road of using his status to tell the Government what they should be doing.

Wiggins is a cyclist so it's unsurprising that his particular cause for concern is cyclists. The story is that he's calling for more legislation to be introduced, compelling cyclists to wear helmets and have proper lights, and prohibiting the use of iPods and mobile phones whilst cycling, and so on. This all comes following the death of cyclist who was in collision with a bus close to the Olympic Park.

I have to say that Wiggins comments seem to make perfect sense, unlike the public utterances of many similar 'celebrities', but none of it will make any difference. The laws in place to control motorists are largely unenforced and unenforceable. Drivers who are 'caught' speeding, drink-driving, failing to wear a seat belt, driving with uninsured or untaxed vehicles, jumping traffic lights and the rest are the unlucky ones. Generally, the police have far more important things to do than bother with such trivia. Attempting to introduce similar laws for cyclists will be even more unenforceable.

Bicycles do not have number plates and do not require road tax or insurance; there is no central register of cyclists and they do not have to pass a test before being allowed on the roads. Consequently, they are a law unto themselves. Cyclists routinely ride an and off the pavement, picking and choosing whether to use pavement or road on a whim; they frequently ignore traffic lights, rarely make hand signals and often have no lights. Very few seem to wear high-visibility clothing and others sometimes veer wildly across the road without warning; younger children and teenagers ride with gay abandon, seemingly daring motorists to knock them down.

Wiggins is absolutely right that something needs to be done but new laws controlling the behaviour of cyclists are not the answer. What is needed is more discipline, starting at home and being continued in schools; no bike should be sold unless it has proper lighting attached and working, and no bike should be sold unless a helmet goes with it. If parents have to pay for these things, are they not more likely to ensure that they are used ? Schools should return to the old days of running 'cycling proficiency courses' which could even be seen as a first step on the way to a driving licence, and cyclists should be required to have insurance, exactly the same as other road users.

These measures may not be a universal panacea but they would go someway to starting to bring in a more sensible regime for cyclists and might help to prevent at least some of the accidents in which they are involved and the injuries that result.