I am not anti cyclist and have not just been annoyed by one, BUT, I often wonder why they are not compulsorily required to have at least 3rd party insurance? They are quite capable of causing as much death & destruction as you and I in our cars.
Also, why no contribution to our spiralling road costs? True, they cause little, if any, actual wear & tear to the surfaces but they still USE the facilities and occupy a significant space if everyone gives them the safety zone they like/need. Also, in many areas the only new road surfaces provided are for the sole benefit of cyclists - so why shouldn't they pay something?
|
I understand what you are saying totally, Frosty (if I may be so familiar!!;-)) and agree with you entirely, but I fear that the cost of introducing and policing such a radical change would totally negate any benefits this may bring.
Also, many people may be contemplating making more journeys by bicycle to help the environment. Confront them with (yet more) taxation, and they will surely revolt! And as we both know, there is nothing worse than revolting motorists!!
Happy Easter!
Rob
Watch out for squirrels' tails. Far too bushy for my liking.
|
I understand what you are saying totally, Frosty (if I may be so familiar>>
How dare you sir!!
Pistons at dawn!
Happy Easter to you, too.
|
|
|
|
Mr Frost Sir,
I do so agree that cyclists should have third part insurance, they are just as capable of causing accidents or injury (usually when they totaly ignore road markings or signs or traffic lights or any semblance of the highway code) but as far as paying for road space? No Sir, as they are totally environmentally friendly they should not be forced to pay to use the road
Yours sincerely
Mr R Family
|
|
|
Many (most?) cyclists will have 3rd party insurance through either household insurance or membership of organisations such as the CTC. Try as I might I cannot cause too much death or destruction on the bike. Compliance with compulsory motor insurance is frighteningly patchy. As Rob says enforcing it for cyclists is simply not cost effective.
As to contribting to road costs, we do pay something viaIncome Tax, VAT and Council Tax etc etc. The "Road Fund Licence" is an urban myth. Motor Vehicle Licence Duty is just that, a tax on an easy target like alcohol or ciggies.
|
|
Why do cyclists in cycling club gangs insist on riding three or four abreast on their Sunday jaunts? Be a real laugh if car drivers tried that kind of mobile road block...
|
|
Another "being berated by drivers story: I was riding in a gang of six tandems, riding two abreast at about 25mph in a 40. Car driver behind shouts something about being two abreast. So we went line astern. A tandem is just over seven feet long, so now he had a queue over fifty feet long to pass. No chance. How we laughed.
|
Another "being berated by drivers story: I was riding in a gang of six tandems, riding two abreast at about 25mph in a 40. Car driver behind shouts something about being two abreast. So we went line astern. A tandem is just over seven feet long, so now he had a queue over fifty feet long to pass. No chance. How we laughed.
What were you laughing for?
|
|
Because by being an aggressive, arrogant so-and-so he had made an even bigger problem for himself. 's how it goes, I guess. Slowed us down, too, because you can draft better in a pack.
|
Because by being an aggressive, arrogant so-and-so he had made an even bigger problem for himself. 's how it goes, I guess. Slowed us down, too, because you can draft better in a pack.
He probably thought the same as you! Two wheels or four, we're all as bad as each other...
|
|
We weren't tooting our little horn, shaking our fists and swearing, though. And when the road was clear we would have waved him through too. Just too impatient is what he was and as a very regular cyclist I see it a great deal. I think it's the adrenalin caused by stress. If you're in a car doing no exercise it has nowhere to go.
|
We weren't tooting our little horn, shaking our fists and swearing, though. And when the road was clear we would have waved him through too. Just too impatient is what he was and as a very regular cyclist I see it a great deal. I think it's the adrenalin caused by stress. If you're in a car doing no exercise it has nowhere to go.
But Chris, I'm a motorists - I OWN the road!!
|
|
But as a cyclist, I was there first.
|
But as a cyclist, I was there first.
Now you can understand why I was trying to get past, then!
|
|
|
Everyone is free to use the roads for free. This applies to all roads other than toll roads or private property. MVLD is not earmarked for the roads, it's just a general tax like any other, only targeted at motor vehicles. As Simon says most cyclists do have some form of 3rd party cover anyway and they are also taxpayers (does anyone not pay VAT at least sometimes?). Most of them also pay MVLD as it happens. I remember a motorist berating me at some traffic lights once (he was driving his car and that seemed to make him angry). He said: "Why don't you cyclists pay road tax?" I said: "Actually, I do." The lights changed and he drove off in a cloud of blue smoke.
|
Why does so much policy seem to assume that 'cyclists' and 'motorists' are different people?
Like you, I pay road tax or whatever it is these days but I ride my bike to work.
I think most of the money spent on cycling facilities is wasted, because we seem to get gold-plated cycle paths and crossing points in some places and b****r all everywhere else. It isn't possible to make any useful journey without encountering the cyclist's worst enemy, the roundabout.
The Dutch and the Germans seem to manage to share cycling space with pedestrians in urban centres, whereas here we have pedestrians telling bikes to get on the roads, drivers telling bikes to get on the cycle paths etc.
Having said all this, as a cyclist who goes a short distance with no more special equipment than a couple of clips on my trouser legs (oh how Mrs Sheep melts when she sees them) I have an irrational hatred of 'cyclists' who wear all the fancy gear and then ride on the pavements.
And a question - if I hit a cyclist who crossed the road on a zebra crossing, whose fault would it be? I always thought they were meant for pedestrians.
|
>we have pedestrians telling bikes to get on the roads, drivers telling bikes to get on the cycle paths etc.
Couldn't agree more and this is a big problem. Couple of years ago I was in Cologne and couldn't help but admire the way they had integrated cycle paths into the city travel network. These paths went right out into the suburbs and there was actual "traffic" to speak of - they were being well used - roller bladers and cyclists commuting along them. Like so many other things - rail, bus routes etc - this sort of thing requires vision by a local authority; its a pity we don't see a much better system here.
So, far from discouraging cyclists with taxes, we should be encouraging them with investment and infrastructure.
Splodgeface
|
Nothing against cyclists but why do they have to dress up like refugees from some arcade computer game??
|
If there is a case for cyclists paying VED and insurance to use the roads, surely pedestrians should be made to do the same? And what about increased duty for push-chairs and shopping trollies because of the extra space they take up.
I pay more than enough in taxes already, thank you very much. The last thing I need is more expense and paperwork because I cycle.
|
Small point from a serious cyclist - I hold no brief for some of the idiots riding about at the present time.
The group of riders that I used to spend the day with once calculated that of the 17 riders present on this particular occasion between us we owned, taxed and insured 31 cars 2 LGvs
and one HGV. As it is not possible to ride and drive at the same moment in time we came to the conclusion we were entitled to a little road space as we were paying for it several times over.
|
|
|
|
|
