Oxford motorists call for ‘better education’ after A40 near miss

Robbo Leigh, of the Motoring Action for Oxford group, has said cyclists in the city need to be made aware of their obligations to keep roads safe.

This comes after he was travelling over the A40 near Barton Park where the major highway and Barton Fields Road intersects.

At the major junction, on Friday, May 8, his dashcam recorded a cyclist, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, travelling across his path when the pedestrian crossing lights were red.

“It is still an issue with many cyclists not knowing that red means stop and wait,” he said.

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The incident has prompted plenty of reaction among our readers.

On cyclists needing further education, one anonymous motorist said: “All cyclists should have to wear a helmet, pass a proficiency test, and have insurance, in order to use the roads. If safety is the prerogative then why isn’t this a law?”

Driver Rosanna Bastable said: “They should bring back the requirement to have to be trained before being allowed to cycle.

“I saw children in my city centre about two to three weeks back doing cycling on one wheel alongside a double decker bus and then doing it straight into the front of the bus. I was glad that the bus driver was able not to hit them.

“The first thing I did was report it to some police I found and their response was like they had given up trying to stop children behaving that way.

“They wish to have cycling tests brought back as a requirement.”

Others argued for more comprehensive testing with one reader Samuel Colassi saying “if you use the road, you need a licence for it and an insurance which cyclists shouldn’t be exempt from”.

A bike is filmed at the A40 Barton Fields junction on Friday, May 8 (Image: Robbo Leigh)

However, some motorists argued council decisions have made cycling in Oxford difficult.

One driver. who asked not to be named, said: “If this was in the Netherlands, the obvious conflict would have been addressed decades ago.

“You need to have a cycle path at this spot, with priority over the road, so that drivers have to give way to cyclists, rather than the other way around.

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“As we see from cities that provide comprehensive cycle infrastructure, we quickly see bikes outnumbering cars, so the priority has to be bikes, even though drivers often think that they should have priority themselves.”

Another comment from reader Salvia Wo said: “It is way easier to create the conflict instead of building roads that are safe for cars and cyclists.”

This came after a number of incidents over the past few years including the attendance of ambulances in December 2025 and June 2024, car crashes in July 2024 and August 2023, as well as events that saw public infrastructure damaged, including in July 2024.

Councillor Glynis Phillips has also campaigned on the issue.