What do you guys think of number plates for cyclists

Capodecina
Soldato
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Nice in theory (for identification and reporting purposes) but probably impractical.

I do accept that cyclists are occasionally inconsiderate, arrogant and incredibly stupid; I watched a Bookie's Favourite for the 2019 Darwin Award riding down a cycle lane this afternoon without a helmet, talking on a mobile and with no hands on the handlebars.
 
Permabanned
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Shropshire
All cyclists should be made to pay for a drive of an artic, just so they can experience a truck drivers perception (or not) of a guy hurtling up the inside despite him indicating left....

But I think number plates for cycles, rather than cyclists would garner more support, pinning a number plate on a Lycra clad health freak may be bothersome.

I note round here the "cycle race" warning signs have changed to "cycle event" ones. Someone finally realised racing on the Queen's highway is illegal or something?

Is riding furiously still on the statute books?
 
Associate
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Hampshire
I am struggling to understand who will police bikes with no plates? There is an issue with Mopeds still to be resolved.

I do struggle to see what it will prove. To be fair I have seen a couple of red light jumpers stopped.

Cyclists whilst the holier than thou, saving the planet etc - Not sure if this equates to a free licence to exceed speed limits, laws and common sense?

What happened to slowing down and assessing pedestrians/trucks/cars.
 
Permabanned
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I am struggling to understand who will police bikes with no plates? There is an issue with Mopeds still to be resolved.

I do struggle to see what it will prove. To be fair I have seen a couple of red light jumpers stopped.

Cyclists whilst the holier than thou, saving the planet etc - Not sure if this equates to a free licence to exceed speed limits, laws and common sense?

What happened to slowing down and assessing pedestrians/trucks/cars.
Don't get in their way, they get very angry
 
Associate
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Deal with dangerous driving first, if there's money left over do more about burglaries and fix roads properly, maybe then it'd be worth spending money on schemes to do with bikes.

I have previously thought it would be a good idea for cycling (and using public transport) to be rewarded by giving vehicle excise credits in some way so that people who aren't using their cars as much are rewarded for it. So for that to work some form of licencing would be needed. It makes absolutely no sense for cycling to be 'taxed' like cars are though when every person who gets out of a car and on a bike is helping reduce road wear and polution
 
Man of Honour
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Stoke on Trent
It makes absolutely no sense for cycling to be 'taxed' like cars are though when every person who gets out of a car and on a bike is helping reduce road wear and polution

It makes absolute sense, the VED for a cycle would be £0 like a lot of cars.

For my part I have been cycling to work for around 6 years, I don't do it for green issues, I don't do it for health issues, I don't do it to wind idiot motorists up, I do it because anybody who lives in Stoke knows it's virtually impossible to park at the hospital so I'm able to lock my bike right outside the office.
 
Capodecina
Soldato
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Deal with dangerous driving first, if there's money left over do more about burglaries and fix roads properly, maybe then it'd be worth spending money on schemes to do with bikes. . . .
Is anyone in particular planning on "spending money on schemes to do with bikes", other than creating cycle paths or do you object to them?
 
Caporegime
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People should have to wear them too. Then again it won't be needed once the EU has equipped every car with facial recognition cameras.
 
Caporegime
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Cornwall
Down here nobody cycles anyhow. Too hilly for all but the die-hard lycra fetishists.

And also the long-term (and short term) plan for our failing road network is to get everybody to cycle. (Failing in the sense that they are unable to cope with increasing demand).

Also to build houses with no parking.

Because there's nothing like burying your head in the sand and pretending you can force people out of cars, when there's literally no alternative (Public transport? What's that? Must be a London thing.)

Cyclists are the least of our worries tbh.
 
Soldato
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22 Nov 2006
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23,390
Suits me, a guy cycled in to my car and my insurance company settled with him and he got £20,000

That happened to me a few years back. I got out and had a go at them, they left the scene after hitting me pretty hard face first. I didn't report it as I know it would just come back on me even though it wasn't my fault. Pulled out the face dents, cleaned the blood off and said no more.

I am offended by being called a cyclist, I would prefer the term 'person who rides a bike'.

I quite like "bikey" :D
 
Last edited:
Soldato
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18 Oct 2012
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8,333
You've then just scuppered the cycling heritage of this country.

Cavendish, Wiggins, froome, Pendleton. All started as kids on the road.

You cant drive till your 17, and you need training and a licence to do so. last time i checked that hasnt screwed up our ability to generate high caliber racing drivers.

Next question
 
Soldato
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15 Mar 2010
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Bucks
its a fair idea, cyclists are reasonable, sensible citizens, im sure they would see the sense in such a change in the law
Can I ask why you and some others in here seem to think that you either drive a car or ride a bike? Your implication being that somehow if you ride a bike your social standing is less than If you drove?

It's almost as If the millions of drivers on our roads dont also own a bike that they regularly use.
 
Associate
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28 May 2004
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Southampton
I'll follow whatever the rules are however how would such a thing be managed. It'd also cost a fair whack to setup the infrastructure. Look at cars, they have to be registered to an owner at an address linking the chassis number etc to the person. It'd require a similar system to link bicycle to owner but that wouldn't always mean that is the current person riding the bike. Would you have to register every bicycle? even a child's bike?

There are cretins everywhere out there, be them on bicycles, in cars, in HGVs etc. Look how many incidents of road rage there are and I doubt all of those are investigated. If anything we simply need more police around to police incidents as they occur. That will not happen either though.

I don't think implementing this solution is the answer and it won't achieve what people are hoping it'll achieve.
 
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