Iron meets television
posh_pedaller
Posts: 124
I know, I really shouldn't let it get to me.
But still. Top Gear. Just stick to talking about cars. Please.
Was tolerating the Clarkson BS and accepting it as his Top Gear persona up until he asks, 'Who pays road tax?' and no-one corrected him. It's one thing to moan about cyclists but such bald misstatements of facts are usually reserved for religious nuts.
Was actually enjoying ironing my shirts for next week.
But still. Top Gear. Just stick to talking about cars. Please.
Was tolerating the Clarkson BS and accepting it as his Top Gear persona up until he asks, 'Who pays road tax?' and no-one corrected him. It's one thing to moan about cyclists but such bald misstatements of facts are usually reserved for religious nuts.
Was actually enjoying ironing my shirts for next week.
FCN 7
Porridge and coffee - the breakfast of champions
Porridge and coffee - the breakfast of champions
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Comments
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You can use https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/ to highlight the inaccuracy.
After their crap about Mexicans etc. last week, I'm really going off Clarkson and Hammond very rapidly. I've tolerated a lot of their rubbish, probably more than I should have, but I've had enough. I know the arguments that they only do it to court controversy and publicity, but I've drawn a personal line in the sand. Top Gear's been a load of balls for ages anyway.0 -
It's just a TV programme peeps :roll:Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
Aye, it's been in decline for a while. I watch it in the hope that it'll entertain, but I don't think it's that good any more. Too much money, not enough quality.Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.0
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Ah, but that's just it, really. It's not "just a TV programme." It's a TV programme watched by a huge number of people, many of whom will have their views influenced or reinforced by the things Clarkson et al say; e.g. that they have more right to be on the road than I do on my bike because they "pay road tax" while "cyclists don't".
I don't really see why their perpetuation of myths and stereotypes should pass without comment simply because it was on TV. :roll:0 -
itboffin wrote:It's just a TV programme peeps :roll:
Agreed. I love it. However I fully expect that many cyclists will get more 'you don't pay road tax' style comments over the next few days from ignorant drivers who believe everything Clarkson says rather than taking it with a pinch of salt (as happened with the mexican comments and most of the other controversial things he says.) Clarkson's comment will further reinforce the fact that we shouldn't be on the road, which is annoying. however, it may be a good thing; I'm sure a few people will complain and in the light of the mexican stuff it'll hopefully get mentioned more on the net that we do actually contribute to the maintenance of the roads. At the end of the day there's always going to be drivers who think we shouldn't be on the road, so I can't say I'm too fussed, I'll just going to keep going past them in heavy London traffic...Giant Defy 3
FCN 5
All wrenching and no riding makes me frickin' angry...0 -
Pay the tax, get the disc and you're permitted to drive on the road.
Calling it Road Tax isn't entirely unreasonable“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
if only it were possible to buy a tax disc without a reg number, could stick it in a tax disc holder on the handlebars, would be worth the expense just to see the expression on peoples faces when they try to bring up road tax and you point at it and say 'what the f**k do you think that is then...'
Hat + Beard0 -
[Gets popcorn out]TailWindHome wrote:Pay the tax, get the disc and you're permitted to drive on the road.
Calling it Road Tax isn't entirely unreasonable"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Stevo 666 wrote:[Gets popcorn out]
Nah. Obvious troll is obvious.0 -
That's not trolling.
It's not that unreasonable to describe the tax in question as 'Road Tax'
It is unreasonable to suggest that paying this tax in some way entitles you to abuse other road users or means you 'own' the roads, but it's not unreasonable to call it 'Road Tax'
ETA
It's also just as inaccurate to describe the tax as Vehicle Excise Duty and justify it by linking it to the emissions of the car and there effect on the environment.
It's got nothing to do with the environment or the maintenance of roads. It's just something that can be taxed“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
TailWindHome wrote:That's not trolling.
It's not that unreasonable to describe the tax in question as 'Road Tax'
It is unreasonable to suggest that paying this tax in some way entitles you to abuse other road users or means you 'own' the roads, but it's not unreasonable to call it 'Road Tax'
ETA
It's also just as inaccurate to describe the tax as Vehicle Excise Duty and justify it by linking it to the emissions of the car and there effect on the environment.
It's got nothing to do with the environment or the maintenance of roads. It's just something that can be taxed
Quite right. The key issue, though, is that no matter what it's called, many drivers have the wrong idea about how it is used.Giant Defy 3
FCN 5
All wrenching and no riding makes me frickin' angry...0 -
And I'm a Mexican BMW M5 owner whos now furious, how dare they say a Focus is 10mph faster, thats lies, where do I complain :roll:0
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iPete wrote:And I'm a Mexican BMW M5 owner whos now furious, how dare they say a Focus is 10mph faster, thats lies, where do I complain :roll:
A cycling forum?
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deptfordmarmoset wrote:iPete wrote:And I'm a Mexican BMW M5 owner whos now furious, how dare they say a Focus is 10mph faster, thats lies, where do I complain :roll:
A cycling forum?
What would be wrong with a Mexican forum? Something against Mexicans eh? Think we're too busy napping to use the internet? I'll get the Ambassador on you..
Disclaimer: I'm not Mexican nor do I own a car..0 -
Bikeradar top tips, no 372.
'Road tax' is a myth. It's a 'vehilce licence'.
Roads are property of the state. We already own them and have a right to use them. The vehicle licence fund permits you to use the roads in a motor-propelled-vehicle.
So, if some snotty pr*ck who wallows in misleading the public (like Clarkson, for instance) brings it up again. Put them right!
......preferably, in Clarksons case, with extreme prejudice.......... :twisted:How would I write my own epitaph? With a crayon - I'm not allowed anything I can sharpen to a sustainable point.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are worth exactly what you paid for them.0 -
I've just complained.
I drive a whopping great gas guzzling Audi, and happen to love driving. This means I pay horrendous tax. I also ride a fleet of bikes.
The VED thing infuriates me hugely. Some twat in a shitty little car tried to accelerate past me a little earlier. I had signalled right and started to move over to the right of the single lane, 20m from a red light. He revved up, realised he couldn't get past, so slammed on the brakes, edged up next to me, wound the window down and started to have a go.... I asked him what the point of trying to overtake me was and told me he "was just using the the road" and "I shouldn't be on it"...
Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!! this kind of thing happens far too often.
Feel free to copy and paste this into the BBC complaint form with amendments if you see fit.
"As a taxpayer, driver and a competitive cyclist, using the roads is a huge part of my life. I was appalled at the inaccuracy of Clarkson's comments regarding cyclists using roads in the UK.
To clarify this issue, I would like to point out that "Road Tax" doesn’t exist. It hasn’t done since 1937. Those little perforated discs pay for Vehicle Excise Duty, which is not a road tax, it’s a tax on vehicles with motors.
Vehicle Excise Duty is based on the level of a vehicle’s tailpipe emissions. The bigger and more carbon-wasteful the car, the more VED is paid. Cars which emit less than 100g/km CO2 don’t pay any VED at present.
The funding for roads comes from General Taxation and Council Tax, there is no hypothecation on VED for its use for the upkeep of the road network.
I would like a statement at the start of the next broadcast rectifying the mistake and apologise for the inaccuracy of the comments. It is precisely comments like these which fuel countless road users' ignorant and dangerous attitudes towards cyclists."
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Whether you call it road tax or VED or vehicle excise makes no difference whatsoever. However, if a road tax-cum-VED-cum-vehicle excise payer thinks it's a entitlement to bully and marginalise other road users, then that's a different matter.0
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stockwellcyclist wrote:TailWindHome wrote:That's not trolling.
It's not that unreasonable to describe the tax in question as 'Road Tax'
It is unreasonable to suggest that paying this tax in some way entitles you to abuse other road users or means you 'own' the roads, but it's not unreasonable to call it 'Road Tax'
ETA
It's also just as inaccurate to describe the tax as Vehicle Excise Duty and justify it by linking it to the emissions of the car and there effect on the environment.
It's got nothing to do with the environment or the maintenance of roads. It's just something that can be taxed
Quite right. The key issue, though, is that no matter what it's called, many drivers have the wrong idea about how it is used.
What can I tell you.
Some people are stupid
In other news National Insurance isn't“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Gawd - we're just another bunch that clarkson wants to wind up. He'll be loving this, if anyone reads it to him.
If you really want to moan at him, or the BBC, just ask him which particular bit of road he imagines his £150 VED buys him. That, or we all become another disparate group who can't wait to be offended.0 -
i can name many groups of people off the top of my head that clarkson has offended: van drivers, mexicans, footballers, caravan owners, toyota prius drivers, motorcyclists, the french, the germans, the italians, environmentalists, and of course cyclists. The list is literally endless and it's what you expect when you watch top gear. So i can't say i'm too botheredGiant Defy 3
FCN 5
All wrenching and no riding makes me frickin' angry...0 -
stockwellcyclist wrote:i can name many groups of people off the top of my head that clarkson has offended: van drivers, mexicans, footballers, caravan owners, toyota prius drivers, motorcyclists, the french, the germans, the italians, environmentalists, and of course cyclists. The list is literally endless and it's what you expect when you watch top gear. So i can't say i'm too bothered
Agreed.0 -
I did like Steve Coogan's quote in this morning Metro where he likened Clarkson to the School bully, Hammond the little class squirt who looked up to the bully and tries to impress him and May as the gimp who holds Clarksons and Hammonds coats while they bully the other kids.Fat lads take longer to stop.0
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Apparently when Clarkson was a print journalist writing about cars he was renowned for just taking manufactures publicity bumf and re-hashing it into articles. Was caught out big time when (I think it was) Mercedes spoofed him with some literature about their new windscreen coating that would make flies bounce off rather than splatter.
He bought it hook line and sinker and re-hashed it into an article.
Not his finest hour.....
The thing about Clarkson is that he does occasionally make me laugh out loud - but I take him about as seriously as Benny Hill and would certainly never base a decision on his advice.
Top Gear is merely entertaining crap - and the sort of people who form opinions based on it's content should be beneath our notice anyway. Except Mexicans, 'cos I'm very fond of Tacos and Tequila. And snoozing in the afternoon.FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
Litespeed L3 for Strava bits
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.0 -
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When Top Gear's idea of an entertaining feature is seeing whether Hammond can dive across a mile of desert faster than a VW Beetle can fall a mile, you know the programme is in trouble. The road tax comment is just par for the course from that lot, but the Mexican comment is bordering on casual racism. Just a matter of time before they do a Ross/Brand?1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
The Ross/Brand thing wouldn't happen to Clarkson, he'd really have to up his game to surprise anybody. As for the Ross/Brand thing, that was daily mail readers gone mad, it was pathetic that it even got coverage.0
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Agent57 wrote:
Indeed! Brilliant.
For the record, I really do like Top Gear. I don't own a car, and I can't stand Clarkson's opinions (for money). But the team behind the footage of cars speeding through exotic locations (and yorkshire) with brilliant music playing in the background (I think they kept Amon Tobin in clover for a number of years) are worthy of praise.0 -
I just thought it was a silly thing to say seeing as about 30 seconds earlier they'd been talking about that Fiat 500 that is in the 'free' road tax/VED band. Although they were careful to only say it's emissions were so low that it could drive in the congestion charge zone for free, but they didn't mention tax.0
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notsoblue wrote:Agent57 wrote:
Indeed! Brilliant.
For the record, I really do like Top Gear. I don't own a car, and I can't stand Clarkson's opinions (for money). But the team behind the footage of cars speeding through exotic locations (and yorkshire) with brilliant music playing in the background (I think they kept Amon Tobin in clover for a number of years) are worthy of praise.
That's what I love about that show. The photography tends to be fantastic, and playing 'spot the song' is too much fun. Their opinions on anything other than what's a good car or not are pretty much worthless, and even then I wouldn't buy a car on their advice.FCN - 10
Cannondale Bad Boy Solo with baggies.0
