In response to J Mills (‘Roads have changed – we must move on’, Opinion, April 8), he should have read the letter by Britt Doughty-Godchaux (‘Take the long view on cycling’, Opinion, February 25) before criticising my reply (‘Conditions are not related to driving’, Opinion, March 18) and accusing me of making incorrect statements and self-contradictions.

If I knew what they were, I would be more able to reply to him now.

However, with regard to Enfield town centre traffic, the shopping area does far more trade with public transport and cars than it would with public transport and cycles. It is simply because cars are more versatile in use than bicycles and there are more of them.

His vision of roads devoid of cars in favour of bus/cycle lanes is a vision only.

Regarding the comment about cycling being healthy and driving not being. Where is the evidence? I am not aware of any public health warnings about driving. It seems to be cycle lobby propaganda.

And regarding the comment about “failure to acknowledge stress and anxiety caused by driving”, I did not experience this driving my car between 1962 and 2011. Mr Mills should stop driving if he finds it stressful.

I agree “roads have changed and we must move on”, but banning cars in favour of many more bus/cycle lanes is not moving on. Moving on is the Government’s initiative to spend £11billion on road improvements to get the traffic moving.

With regards to older people’s ability in a car or on a bike, Mr Mills should be aware that the DVLA closely monitors their medical conditions and bans them from driving if necessary. This does not apply to cyclists. Perhaps he can say why older persons do not cycle.

With regards to Dr Beeching, it is a fact of history that he increased road traffic when he closed hundreds of railways and several thousand stations in the 1960s.

Finally, I find it strange that Mr Mills wants to ban cars and drive around himself.

G A Musey

Mitchell Road, Palmers Green