TheLondonPaper Cyclists and HGVs article

snooks

dondare wrote:

Quote from thelondonpaper letters page:

"Rules for cyclists
Drivers pay tax to use the roads and take tests to show they know the Highway Code. Cyclists need the same rules. Maybe their road tax money can go towards cycle lanes so that it’s safer for everyone.
Nick"

Dear LondonPaper
Maybe Nick isn’t aware, but Road Tax dosen’t exist! It’s Vehicle Excise Duty, based on the amount of CO2 your vehicle emits. Bicycles do not emit CO2 therefore they have no VED to pay, simple...Yes the cyclist emits CO2, but so does a driver, pedestrian, horse, or any other living animal.

When will some drivers realise they are paying for the pollution their vehicles emit, not to use the roads which everyone is entitled to?

....Thought that was simple enough

sc999cs

snooks wrote:

dondare wrote:

Quote from thelondonpaper letters page:

"Rules for cyclists
Drivers pay tax to use the roads and take tests to show they know the Highway Code. Cyclists need the same rules. Maybe their road tax money can go towards cycle lanes so that it’s safer for everyone.
Nick"

Dear LondonPaper
Maybe Nick isn’t aware, but Road Tax dosen’t exist! It’s Vehicle Excise Duty, based on the amount of CO2 your vehicle emits. Bicycles do not emit CO2 therefore they have no VED to pay, simple...Yes the cyclist emits CO2, but so does a driver, pedestrian, horse, or any other living animal.

When will some drivers realise they are paying for the pollution their vehicles emit, not to use the roads which everyone is entitled to?

....Thought that was simple enough

In Nick's case maybe he should be taxed on the amount of methane he produces instead?

snooks

sc999cs wrote:

In Nick's case maybe he should be taxed on the amount of methane he produces instead?

LOL

I like to think I was a bit more subtle

snooks

And it was printed yesterday:

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/talk

always_tyred

It would have more impact if it wasn't printed under the letter by the moron who seems to think that cyclists go through red lights and run cars over, so how would we like it.

Uh.. hello?

snooks

Always Tyred wrote:

It would have more impact if it wasn't printed under the letter by the moron who seems to think that cyclists go through red lights and run cars over, so how would we like it.

Uh.. hello?

What they actually said was "Pesky cyclists
Every day we read about people calling for new laws for London’s cyclists. Personally, I think this is falling on deaf ears – so I think the best way to deal with these pesky cyclists is just to shout at them as they break the rules of the road. They wouldn’t like a car with no lights on jumping a red light and knocking someone over.
Carl C, Hertford"

A moron he might be, but whether we like it or not cyclists do jump red lights, and ride around without lights on...so maybe if people did shout at the "wrong dooers" then they would take notice and correct their ways...then again . . .

biondino

I shout at them so I'm fine for car drivers to do the same - as long as they keep the phrases "get off the road/pay your road tax/oh my god is that Shimano what were you thinking" to themselves.

always_tyred

My point simply was (and it IS worse up here for this because there aren't many light cameras) that cars DO run red lights and cars DO drive around with no lights. I'd shout but they can't hear me and only one of party and and party B is capable of running the other one over. Its a whole other debate though.

snooks

Always Tyred wrote:

My point simply was (and it IS worse up here for this because there aren't many light cameras) that cars DO run red lights and cars DO drive around with no lights. I'd shout but they can't hear me and only one of party and and party B is capable of running the other one over. Its a whole other debate though.

Ahhhh....I see what you were getting at now

Sorry for any confusion...there were a couple of replies in the paper today:

Cyclists’ rights
I agree with Graham, who said cyclists should not pay vehicle duty because it is based on carbon dioxide emissions (“Pollution duty”, yesterday). Furthermore, cyclists will only think of paying taxes when drivers of cars and other vehicles treat them like other road users, instead of dangerously overtaking them and honking their horns if they don’t move out of the way.
Graham, Dulwich

It’s still road tax
To Graham (“Pollution duty”, yesterday): if vehicle excise duty is based on pollution, how come I have been paying this since long before anyone even thought pollution was a problem? And I’m sure that even way back then, most people knew it as road tax. Stop kidding yourself, mate.
Dave, St Neots

So that was that
.

dondare

snooks wrote:

And it was printed yesterday:

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/talk

Which was yours, then?

snooks

dondare wrote:

snooks wrote:

And it was printed yesterday:

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/talk

Which was yours, then?

seems the letters aren't archived, it just shows the day letters, not the ones from Yesterday ...but it was more or less like this :
Maybe Nick isn't aware, but Road Tax doesn't exist! It's Vehicle Excise Duty, based on the amount of CO2 your vehicle emits. Bicycles do not emit CO2 therefore they have no VED to pay. When will some drivers realise they are paying for the pollution their vehicles emit, not to use the roads which everyone is entitled to?

prj45

snooks wrote:

It’s still road tax
To Graham (“Pollution duty”, yesterday): if vehicle excise duty is based on pollution, how come I have been paying this since long before anyone even thought pollution was a problem? And I’m sure that even way back then, most people knew it as road tax. Stop kidding yourself, mate.
Dave, St Neots

So that was that
.

Well to Dave of St Neots, most of the roads round London, other than a bit of tarmac on the top, were around before the motor car was even invented, so how come your "road tax" was used to pay for them?

Also, VED is not ringfenced specifically for roads, it just goes into a pot, council tax actually pays for road repairs.

dondare

prj45 wrote:

snooks wrote:

It’s still road tax
To Graham (“Pollution duty”, yesterday): if vehicle excise duty is based on pollution, how come I have been paying this since long before anyone even thought pollution was a problem? And I’m sure that even way back then, most people knew it as road tax. Stop kidding yourself, mate.
Dave, St Neots

So that was that
.

Well to Dave of St Neots, most of the roads round London, other than a bit of tarmac on the top, were around before the motor car was even invented, so how come your "road tax" was used to pay for them?

Also, VED is not ringfenced specifically for roads, it just goes into a pot, council tax actually pays for road repairs.

Did you send that one in? I've sent a reply but I doubt if it'll be printed, I think I've been black-listed.

snooks

dondare wrote:

Well to Dave of St Neots, most of the roads round London, other than a bit of tarmac on the top, were around before the motor car was even invented, so how come your "road tax" was used to pay for them?

Did you send that one in? I've sent a reply but I doubt if it'll be printed, I think I've been black-listed.

Bloody good point!...Never thought of that!!!

I Emailed my original reply to... yourview@thelondonpaper.com

dondare

Well, they seem to have printed mine, or at least a version of it.
http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/talk