Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 64(2) May 2014

Correspondence

Culture and vulnerable people

From Antony Porter,

Sirs,

It is ironic indeed that Hull has been chosen as the City of Culture for 2017, for only a few years ago that city was dubbed the City of Cycling Deaths because of the appalling numbers of dead and injured cyclists. Along with Liverpool and Manchester, Hull had become notorious for its road traffic collisions involving cyclists as victims.

In such cities it had become the norm for drivers to fail to stop should they run down and kill or injure a cyclist. Hull was once popular with cyclists because of its flat terrain and its abundance of bicycle shops. Aggressive motorists and motorcyclists soon put a stop to all this, according to the local cycling groups.

Gandhi said that "the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Regarding Hull, my view is that culture should now be defined as to how a city looks after its most vulnerable of road users, namely cyclists and pedestrians. Can anyone suggest a better definition?

Antony Porter, London