I HAVE heard on the grapevine that there have been some moans and arguments in the town on the subject of fines for cycling on public footpaths.

The moans are obviously about the cost of being caught cycling on the public footpaths.

While I agree it may be a little high, if £100 is the amount as I have been told, there are of course very good reasons for this amount of money.

For example, the modern technology involved - wages, admin etc - would cost something in the region of £100, which of course the fine would cover.

Other reasons are, if you think of the bicycle and what it does for the economy, i.e. generating money, it does very little. Green issues are obviously a massive plus.

So that is one of the reasons for the fine, health and safety etc.

I do think that the balance in fines should be re-addressed, for example motor vehicle offences, such as overtaking in wrong areas, driving through red lights, parking on zig-zag lines etc. If the fines are 'less' for the above offences, which I believe they are.

Another reason is that motor vehicles do a great deal for the economy - fuel, tax, insurance, tax, garage bills etc, all help in keeping the wheels of the economy turning, while a bicycle does not.

So that's the reason maybe for over-costing the fine for cycling on the public footpath?

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So, the obvious answer is we must not put ourselves on a pedestal where a fine is a high possibility, or a court appearance is the next post.

So I do think a little more on serious motor offences, driving etc, as stated above, could be a little higher, and cycling on public footpaths a little less.

I personally think a £250 fine would be about right, but of course we have a massive deficit, which we have to control.

I believe we have to pay back something like £200,000,000 per year from now on, so we all know that prevention is better than cure.

BARRY GILLARD

Taunton