Letter: Two wheels no laughing matter

Sir: What a shame that your article "Ashdown's Angels want a two- wheel nation" (21 September) chose to make light of a serious attempt to promote two-wheeled transport as part of a solution to free our grid- locked city centres.

Two wheels doesn't just mean big, powerful motorcycles - in this context, the emphasis should be on motorised bicycles, mopeds, scooters and low- capacity commuters. The tiny amount of fuel used is dedicated to transporting only their riders, rather than several hundredweight of metal and plastics. Ride a 50cc scooter anywhere in London and you'll get to your destination in, on average, a quarter of the time.

Furthermore, the accident figures you quote are misleading - of course you are more vulnerable than in a huge metal box, and nothing can change that. However, better training and awareness have lowered the number of accidents involving two-wheelers and, crucially, you failed to mention that the vast majority of such accidents are caused by cars.

Besides, it's hard to suppress a smile when you realise that you only need to fill up once a month instead of every few days.

DICK POWELL

London W14