Food for Thought: Should Cyclists Pay Road Tax?

*Moangroan* · 17 May 2009 at 00:17

Does our road tax still go towards maintenance of the road network ??

edwardcasbon1 · 17 May 2009 at 00:23

Dolph said:
A better question is whether they should have insurance and be held liable for accidents/injuries they cause.

My answer is yes.

I agree with this. Some time ago in Cambridge, which seems to be like cycle heaven, I was stationary at some traffic lights waiting for them to change green.

While i was waiting there was an impatient cyclist (aren't they all?) who decided she wanted to get to the front of the queue (and also slow everyone down). She continued to squeeze between my car and the kerb and accidently lost balance and fell into my car!

It took me by total surprise, I didn't know what to do. She continued and went on her way!

Now, is it fair that I have to pay for the repair of the damage caused to my car (big scratches)? I too believe that there should be some sort of insurance policy needed to ride bicycles on main roads, to cover cyclists for incidents such as above.

K.C. Leblanc · 17 May 2009 at 00:25

*Moangroan* said:
Does our road tax still go towards maintenance of the road network ??

Nope. I think most of it goes on IT systems.

Amp34 · 17 May 2009 at 00:37

Dolph said:
A better question is whether they should have insurance and be held liable for accidents/injuries they cause.

My answer is yes.

In that case we should also tax pedestrians, as i'm sure they are far more dangerous statistically than cyclists.

And to the OP, look up the origin of road tax, cars paid a tax to rent space on the road to drive, as roads were originally designated for pedestrians and human/animal drawn vehicles. You should be lucky they allowed cars on the road at all.

Amp34 · 17 May 2009 at 00:39

edwardcasbon1 said:
I agree with this. Some time ago in Cambridge, which seems to be like cycle heaven, I was stationary at some traffic lights waiting for them to change green.

While i was waiting there was an impatient cyclist (aren't they all?) who decided she wanted to get to the front of the queue (and also slow everyone down). She continued to squeeze between my car and the kerb and accidently lost balance and fell into my car!

It took me by total surprise, I didn't know what to do. She continued and went on her way!

Now, is it fair that I have to pay for the repair of the damage caused to my car (big scratches)? I too believe that there should be some sort of insurance policy needed to ride bicycles on main roads, to cover cyclists for incidents such as above.

There wasn't by chance an area next to the traffic lights (in front of the cars) for bikes was there? If so you were probably parked in the cycle lane. Not that that fully excuses the woman but it would mean you weren't exactly in the right.

edwardcasbon1 · 17 May 2009 at 00:43

Amp34 said:
There wasn't by chance an area next to the traffic lights (in front of the cars) for bikes was there? If so you were probably parked in the cycle lane. Not that that fully excuses the woman but it would mean you weren't exactly in the right.

No, I wasn't. I was about 3 or 4 cars back from the front of the queue.

Kennysevenfold · 17 May 2009 at 00:52

No, we are trying to encourage people to lower fuel emmisions so that wouldnt help

doiks14 · 17 May 2009 at 00:58

Kennysevenfold said:
No, we are trying to encourage people to lower fuel emmisions so that wouldnt help

Well, If 10 cars behind 1 cyclist is driving at 5mph on a 60mph road, then there would be more fuel emmissions anyways... so whats the point in that?

Edit: Oh, and here in York, they've added really annoying green line on a whole lane dedicated for cyclist's (not allowed to be used by motorists, but they're the one's who paid for it.).. and It really does not cause fuel emmisions to drop !!! When that green line didn't exist, we never had traffic jams, now there is always traffic jam every single day... and you say more cyclists will make fuel emmisions lower...? yeah... good lucky with that

"andy" · 17 May 2009 at 01:06

edwardcasbon1 said:
I agree with this. Some time ago in Cambridge, which seems to be like cycle heaven, I was stationary at some traffic lights waiting for them to change green.

While i was waiting there was an impatient cyclist (aren't they all?) who decided she wanted to get to the front of the queue (and also slow everyone down). She continued to squeeze between my car and the kerb and accidently lost balance and fell into my car!

It took me by total surprise, I didn't know what to do. She continued and went on her way!

Now, is it fair that I have to pay for the repair of the damage caused to my car (big scratches)? I too believe that there should be some sort of insurance policy needed to ride bicycles on main roads, to cover cyclists for incidents such as above.

insurance wouldnt stop her riding off so youd of still been out of pocket

CaptainComedy · 17 May 2009 at 01:10

I humbly await the "should there be a pedestrian tax" as the theory behind this thread can also be applied to pedestrians.

Eventually I think people would say to hell with roads, just let the grass grow

and then we'd be back to the old dirt roads and why? because people LOOOOOOOOVE paper!

cheets64 · 17 May 2009 at 01:11

Captain_Slick said:
Because cycling is uncomfortable, exhausting, dangerous, annoys other roads users and make you turn up all sweaty and out of breath.

Why do people cycle to work?

I'd prefer if EVERYONE who went out of their house was charged a Road Tax, akin to the License fee, and owners of emission releasing vehicles pay a carbon tax - aka the current road tax.

Horse riders too. They **** all over the road, get in the way, force everyone to slow down on a 60mph road... just for the uncomfortable pleasure of riding a horse. **** off and do it in a field, it's not like you're going anywhere. Just gonna turn around and go back... ffs.

Our country was built on horses and most of the roads were defined by horses, Do you read the daily mail? Face it the roads cant cope with the cars and HGV, easiest way to stop it is by tax, I bet you would love those black boxes that was touted about years ago

steve-h · 17 May 2009 at 01:17

Burnsy2023 said:
You assume wrong. It's a general tax which goes all to the Treasury.

this... and no.

Captain_Slick · 17 May 2009 at 02:02

cheets64 said:
Our country was built on horses and most of the roads were defined by horses, Do you read the daily mail? Face it the roads cant cope with the cars and HGV, easiest way to stop it is by tax, I bet you would love those black boxes that was touted about years ago

Well, if we're gonna be technical about it, most of the roads were defined by marching armies, actually. If the car had been invented around the same time we started riding horses, I'm pretty sure we'd have gone with the cars. Just because that's all that we had doesn't mean they get given some Godly right to spread their filth, get in way, cause accidents - go nowhere - and increase emissions without paying anything.

I don't read any paper. I have the internet.

Most roads these days are not designed for cyclists, horses or pedestrians - they're designed for motor vehicles - just because the capacity isn't up to scratch doesn't mean alternative rubbish forms of transport should be able to use them as well without paying anything whilst ordinary motorists get taxed through the teeth in every direction.

Easiest way to stop what? Movement? Travel?

What black boxes?

MikeHunt79 · 17 May 2009 at 02:07

I propose that pedestrians pay a pavement tax!

(I hope Gordon doesn't read this...)

bsoltan · 17 May 2009 at 02:09

Horses too.

KatanaDV20 · 17 May 2009 at 02:14

What is worse is a lot of these morons have there Ipods blasting in there ears

+1

These idiots needs to be given points, fined and have their bikes taken away and melted. They really need to crack down on this awful habit. I have seen these goofballs tearing downhill on bikes and actually HEAR the bmm tss bmm tss bmm tss of the trance as they whizz past (this happened last Friday)...yes it was THAT loud.

When youre on those two wheels you need to have total situational awarness.

Captain_Slick · 17 May 2009 at 02:15

Worse are the arrogant cyclists who purposefully move out into the middle of the road when you try to overtake them - motorcyclists that do that annoy me too.

MikeHunt79 · 17 May 2009 at 02:15

KatanaDV20 said:
+1

These idiots needs to be given points, fined and have their bikes taken away and melted. They really need to crack down on this awful habit. I have seen these goofballs tearing downhill on bikes and actually HEAR the bmm tss bmm tss bmm tss of the trance as they whizz past (this happened last Friday)...yes it was THAT loud.

When youre on those two wheels you need to have total situational awarness.

Would you be adversed to bike mounted speakers?

cheets64 · 17 May 2009 at 02:38

Captain_Slick said:
Well, if we're gonna be technical about it, most of the roads were defined by marching armies, actually. If the car had been invented around the same time we started riding horses, I'm pretty sure we'd have gone with the cars. Just because that's all that we had doesn't mean they get given some Godly right to spread their filth, get in way, cause accidents - go nowhere - and increase emissions without paying anything.

I don't read any paper. I have the internet.

Most roads these days are not designed for cyclists, horses or pedestrians - they're designed for motor vehicles - just because the capacity isn't up to scratch doesn't mean alternative rubbish forms of transport should be able to use them as well without paying anything whilst ordinary motorists get taxed through the teeth in every direction.

Easiest way to stop what? Movement? Travel?

What black boxes?

I think you will find many many roads are still formed from the defining people of this country, a pub in my village has been dated back to the 1300s and it was a stop off from the south the north, the M6 and west coast line pass just by it, so the roads are sound and they are showing their age, we cant just knock building down and build new roads.

New roads are designed for traffic and these ones are pot, best thing about old roads are they are never straight and feel real, not like miles and miles motorways or dual carriage ways.

cheets64 · 17 May 2009 at 02:42

Captain_Slick said:
Worse are the arrogant cyclists who purposefully move out into the middle of the road when you try to overtake them - motorcyclists that do that annoy me too.

I find it hard to believe that a cyclist would move into the road every a time a car overtook them, at the end of the day you should give way to them as they are on a bike and at danger, I keep well to the side of the road only time I come into the road is when pot holes appear or cars are parked in the road, but a motorist shoudl always be looking ahead of any dangers from the public.