ON a recent early-morning car journey through York, I experienced an interesting liaison between another motorist and a cyclist at the traffic lights outside the Theatre Royal.

In a particularly eloquent manner a cyclist occupying pole position in the green zone was explaining to a motorist that his incursion into the zone was unsatisfactory.

The cyclist seemed very keen on the motorist's registration number - so much so that he repeated it several times. The motorist, on winding down his window, seemed less keen on conversation and made a particularly brief suggestion to the effect that the cyclist should continue his journey as rapidly as possible. Further advice appeared to upset the cyclist even more.

At the next set of lights the cyclist told me that he drove two cars and because the council had invested thousands in providing special cycle facilities, he had a right to use them. For fear of another altercation, I agreed with him.

I suggested motorists, like cyclists, did make mistakes and that to report a motorist would be, in modern parlance, be the act of a 'saddo'.

Reflecting on this man's apparently- stressful existence for a moment, seconds later I was amused to see him cycle through the traffic lights outside Norwich Union at red. Perhaps he needs to 'chill'.

Andrew M Hedley,

Main Street,

Fulford, York.

Updated: 12:26 Tuesday, April 23, 2002