What do you guys think of number plates for cyclists

[Energize]

In both cases, most of the weight is the weight of the rider.

Hardly, a bike weights between 5-15kg and a moped has a maximum weight of 250kg.

Ahh ok, so its fine then, if someone hits your vehicle it's your responsibility to chase them down and get them to pay up, assuming theyre kind enough to stop and give you their honest name and address so you can send legal documents through. No problem.

No, a hit and run is a police matter.

Otherwise it's like anything in life, if someone damages your property in any way such as scratching your car when walking past it, it goes through the normal legal process of the county court if the two parties can't work it out.

Insurance is designed to cover costs that the parties themselves would never be able to pay in an accident, the low value of damage caused by a typical bicycle accident does not warrant mandatory insurance. It is also completely impractical and unenforceable.

How extreme do you want to go? Should every man, woman, and child have public liability insurance to cover any possible accident they might cause? If I blindly walk into a road I could cause a massive accident, or I could accidentally bump into someone at work causing them to fall down 4 flights of stairs.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

What do you think would be the pro's & con's of having number plates on bicycles ?

I think what I think is irrelevant as the DfT has said on numerous occasions that there are no plans for this (or insurance/licensing) and both the tories and Labour have said there is no political will for it either.

 

[Drollic]

If you're decision making is that mad then you really should you really be on the road?

I'm talking about the kind of small decision making that happens where a rider might of automatically made the wrong decision without even possibly knowing it, and if they were aware, not of the full understanding of what the impact could be. Not jumping a red light a mile down the road from home on the way to work on an electric assisted bike. No cyclist makes the correct decision everytime, roads and traffic can be unpredictable.

 

[Orionaut]

Hardly, a bike weights between 5-15kg and a moped has a maximum weight of 250kg.

Legally, yes. But that is at the extreme obviously.

Quarter of a ton is going to be one big ******* Moped!

In practice ones "Uber-Eats-Special" will only weigh a fraction of that.

And being hit by one of those traveling at 25MPH isn't really going to the that different to being hit by a large cyclist.

And certainly not enough to justify the difference in which the two different types of vehicle are treated legally.

 

[Energize]

Legally, yes. But that is at the extreme obviously.

Quarter of a ton is going to be one big ******* Moped!

In practice ones "Uber-Eats-Special" will only weigh a fraction of that.

And being hit by one of those traveling at 25MPH isn't really going to the that different to being hit by a large cyclist.

And certainly not enough to justify the difference in which the two different types of vehicle are treated legally.

The reality is though in the typical case mopeds weigh significantly more and are travelling at 30mph most of the time. Most people cycling are not capable of sustaining that kind of speed and are travelling around 10-15mph with children going even slower, I think when you take into consideration the typical use case and look at the empirical data regarding accidents caused by mopeds and bicycles, that more than justifies treating the two vehicles differently.

 

[Wizzfizz]

What drivers fail to understand whilst there sat on their arse in the increasingly common automatic, is that some of the people cycling are possibly slightly/partly/heavily fatigued. This in turn can impact decision making from a really minor amount, to making silly erratic choices on the road. They're entitled to the road so give them some space.

.

lol! I have never read such a stupid comment. Well done. Get off the efffin road if you're feeling
fatigued?!?!?!

(across the board)

 

[StriderX]

Scoots can be from 100kg to 270kg and can go up to 75 mph.

Don’t compare them, it’s silly unless the cyclist was a whale.

 

[Gixer]

If HGV’s were predominantly driven in the manner most people think they are the accident statistics for them would be off the scale whereas in fact accident rates for HGV’s are remarkably low.



https://assets.publishing.service.g...-environmental-and-safety-statistics-2013.pdf

The vast vast majority of HGV drivers are very good - you have to be, they are very good killing machines in the wrong hands - unfortunately though when one has an accident the outcome if far more damaging and dramatic than if say a bad car driver has an off day, it’s very much more noticeable too.

As in any walk of life, the tiny majority always give the vast majority a bad image.

But hey, don’t let reality get in the way of perception.

I did expect some comeback and it isn't my perception it's just what I've witnessed on the roads myself. My worst two experiences are one HGV driver actively trying to drive me off the road and another the wife and I were following an HGV in lane 1 on the M-way and it was all over the place, at a few points in time it had drifted into 75% of the hard shoulder for 15 - 30 seconds each time. I've no idea why, we guessed either on their phone or falling asleep. Those stats, 81 compared to 117, don't scream at me extreme professionalism as such drivers like the police. That said they are only human too. I'm not trying to stereotype at all here and I do know and have seen many a decent HGV vehicle driver. I appreciate their skills maneuvering such large vehicles, parking etc but I do not class them as professional drivers myself hence how I feel when I hear it being said. Anyway I'm going way off topic here.

Cyclists should take responsibility for their actions agreed, as should all the other road users out there that are busting rules daily. More policing, problem solved. I still do not believe number plates will achieve the results people are hoping for.

 

[Orionaut]

Scoots can be from 100kg to 270kg and can go up to 75 mph.

Don’t compare them, it’s silly unless the cyclist was a whale.

Yep, as i said, Big scoots can be.

But even the little ones that really dont weigh that much more are still treated totally differently from cyclists.

I know the law has changed recently, but there is still an extraordinary difference in legal compliance and outcome between cyclists and riders of mechanically powered vehicles.

It wasnt that long ago where it would be hard to prosecute a cyclist at all for running somebody over and killing them, and even then it would only be a small fine.

But have a 50cc engine under the seat and you could easily end up spending years in prison for the exact same offense.

Even now, it is very rare indeed for cyclists who kill to end up serving time.

This case is something of an exception https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...jailed-for-18-months-over-death-of-pedestrian

But even so, I suspect that a moped rider, traveling at 18mph, with no brakes, would have received a far harsher sentence.

:/

 

[StriderX]

I don’t know if any scooter near cycle weights... do you mean electro bikes?

 

[bartledvd]

Would rather the money is spent forcing drivers to use indicators here if i can stick my arm out you can move a finger.

On a serious note our government struggles with policing drivers add a few million regular cyclists to the list we are looking at a disaster.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

So cyclists couldn't just go slower?

I have this debate every day about motorists

 

[Nasher]

Yep, as i said, Big scoots can be.

But even the little ones that really dont weigh that much more are still treated totally differently from cyclists.

I know the law has changed recently, but there is still an extraordinary difference in legal compliance and outcome between cyclists and riders of mechanically powered vehicles.

It wasnt that long ago where it would be hard to prosecute a cyclist at all for running somebody over and killing them, and even then it would only be a small fine.

But have a 50cc engine under the seat and you could easily end up spending years in prison for the exact same offense.

Even now, it is very rare indeed for cyclists who kill to end up serving time.

This case is something of an exception https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...jailed-for-18-months-over-death-of-pedestrian

But even so, I suspect that a moped rider, traveling at 18mph, with no brakes, would have received a far harsher sentence.

:/

Most injuries to pedestrians in London are caused by cyclists, not motor vehicles. There does need to be something done really. Currently they can just cycle off and there's no way to trace them, no insurance etc.

So cyclists couldn't just go slower?

It seems odd that cyclists want to use the road as they can't go fast enough on a cycle path yet by going on the road they slow traffic down. I don't know why one group is more privileged than others.

Two cyclists in the village next to mine this afternoon cycling on the wrong side of the road, despite a cycle path, no helmets on. Ugh.

Yea I find that one ironic as well. They complain about not being able on go quickly on cycle lanes, but also complain about cars going quickly on the road lol. Then there are the groups of cyclists playing Tour De France you see on B roads sometimes. Step out in their way and they go mental when they have to slow down, but don't seem to understand that they are also in the way of much faster traffic...

 

[Energize]

Yep, as i said, Big scoots can be.

But even the little ones that really dont weigh that much more are still treated totally differently from cyclists.

I know the law has changed recently, but there is still an extraordinary difference in legal compliance and outcome between cyclists and riders of mechanically powered vehicles.

It wasnt that long ago where it would be hard to prosecute a cyclist at all for running somebody over and killing them, and even then it would only be a small fine.

But have a 50cc engine under the seat and you could easily end up spending years in prison for the exact same offense.

Even now, it is very rare indeed for cyclists who kill to end up serving time.

This case is something of an exception https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...jailed-for-18-months-over-death-of-pedestrian

But even so, I suspect that a moped rider, traveling at 18mph, with no brakes, would have received a far harsher sentence.

:/

The only practical way to implement licencing etc is to take the norm, not the exceptional case. The government can't account for every new type of moped that's created and classify them all differently.

How many deaths are caused by cyclists every year due to having no brakes and cycling furiously? The reason you don't see many cyclists in prison is likely because the circumstances of the accidents are very different from typical vehicular accidents.

 

[FishFluff]

Trust me, if you were to spend a day sat in the passenger seat of my rig watching the actions of those around me, your views would markedly change.

You should maybe try riding a bike

 

[Sasahara]

Most injuries to pedestrians in London are caused by cyclists, not motor vehicles. There does need to be something done really. Currently they can just cycle off and there's no way to trace them, no insurance etc.

You got a source for this or did you just make it up?

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/...most-dangerous-london-borough-for-pedestrians
Every 12 hours, a pedestrian is seriously injured by a car, lorry or bus on London’s streets – and one person is killed every week.
So you saying that bikes are doing more than that? lol

https://fullfact.org/health/cyclist-deaths/
In 2016, 448 pedestrians were killed by a vehicle—3 of these deaths involved a bike, and 289 involved a car. UK as a whole.
In 2016, 108 pedestrians were seriously injured by a bicycle, compared to 4,156 by a car. UK as a whole.

 

[lunar]

Another point. I noticed that cyclist pull out when there is a parked vehicle ahead of them without even looking back.

 

[Sasahara]

Another point. I noticed that cyclist pull out when there is a parked vehicle ahead of them without even looking back.

I've seen every type of road user do reckless things, car drivers the most, which you would expect as the are the biggest users. Does that mean everyone is reckless?
The amount of amount of no indicating is extremely high and indicating at the same time as turning/pulling over, which defeats the point.

The arguments in this thread are mental.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Another point. I noticed that cyclist pull out when there is a parked vehicle ahead of them without even looking back.

and as a driver I can see the cyclist approaching the parked car and make adjustments because I've worked out they are on the road in front of me and they need to go round the car, obviously a lot of motorists just think it's their right of way to just go past and then blame the cyclist when they get too close.

 

[Orionaut]

and as a driver I can see the cyclist approaching the parked car and make adjustments because I've worked out they are on the road in front of me and they need to go round the car, obviously a lot of motorists just think it's their right of way to just go past and then blame the cyclist when they get too close.

Not just with cyclists either.

On motorways/multi carriageway roads one still sees the same nonsense.

If I am in L2 and see somebody in L1 approaching a lorry (Which I know he will wish to pass)

I will hold back and give him the space to do so.

Unfortunately the world is full of utter jerks who will happily "Close the Door" on the L1 driver simply because "My Right-of-Way"