The Sun newspaper have just blasted the Police for printing a cycling manual. What do you think of this?

The Sun will print anything to get peoples' blood boiling and sell copies.

The police are correct in providing an instruction manual for their officers. I belong to a cycling club, and we offer our new members instruction, clinics and classes as well as a manual on how to ride with a group of other riders. There is a big difference between being able to stay upright on a bike and knowing how to ride safely in traffic. If people who want to drive a car should take driving lessons, why does it seem unreasonable to offer instruction to others who will operate a different type of vehicle on the same streets that cars use? Cyclists have to deal with some situations that drivers don't have to worry about, and they also are required to follow the rules of the road. They should be taught how to ride safely.

I gather it had plenty of sensible stuff about the Highway Code, road positioning, bike maintenance etc, but also some dull bits about how to balance - I doubt that a book can teach this. I've only seen comments on the book, but suspect that 94 pages is simply too long to be memorable, and that at least some of the time would have been better spent out on the road with experienced colleagues.

Our local PCSO didn't even know that his own police bike wasn't street legal as it had no lights or reflectors - so maybe some sort of instruction is needed.

I don't know how it is there, but over here there are an awful lot of clueless cyclists. A good how-to can't hurt. Yes, a 4 year old can propel a bike forward and stay upright. Rules of the road and traffic etiquette are a different matter. No reason to think an officer of the law would be smarter or more knowledgeable than the average uninformed dope on a bike.

It's not a COMPLETE waste of money, but 94 pages on cycling rules and suggestions is bound to be puffed with some bureaucratic nonsense.

Bicycle patrolmen would certainly need an operating manual specific to them, both tor their protection and the public's. I'm sure it contained a lot of defensive riding instructions, along with the usual rules of the road.

Next the police will set out instructions of how to walk!

This is a complete waste of money - our tax money

well

it does seem silly to tell everyone in the world how to be a *cycling policeman*

wle.

what a load of cods wallop