Re: The Detriment of Others, Wayne Jessop, Friday 18 March which mentions the difficulty for cyclists at the Oceanbeach Road and Golf Road intersection. As a motorist I fear that it is only a matter of time before a cyclist is seriously hurt or killed at this intersection due to bad road planning not driver arrogance.
There is only one lane for cars whether heading straight or turning left and the cycle lane is inside of this. If a motorist is turning left and a cyclist is racing up the inside then things could possibly turn out ugly. Yes, a driver can check their blind spot and use their mirrors but an exercising cyclist traveling at 30-40km/h is not always the easiest vehicle to spot on the road with only mirrors and obscured vision to rely on. I use the cycle lane as a left turn to prevent such an accident happening and have mentioned this to my family and a number of friends to take as a logical precautionary measure.
Good on you for taking up the sport of cycling, I hope you enjoy it right in to old age and roads are made safer for people such as yourself participating in the sport. I will be the person blocking you here one day and I hope you can understand my reasoning.
Matt Bodman, Mount Maunganui.