Bikes make Potholes?

5xcr

Hi , My son has just told me that cyclists should pay insurance because they cause potholes on the roads e.t.c. SO, what do you think, should we pay insurance ? and do we cause potholes with our bikes? LOL.

5xcr :?

RevellRider

Tell your son that the insurance doesn't pay for the potholes to be repaired so why should we pay it?

angry_bird

Your son's evidently a trouble maker. We should burn him at the stake.

Briggo

5xcr wrote:

Hi , My son has just told me that cyclists should pay insurance because they cause potholes on the roads e.t.c. SO, what do you think, should we pay insurance ? and do we cause potholes with our bikes? LOL.

5xcr :?

I bet your son likes you considering how gullable you are, bet he has some right good fun.

dan shard

I agree with him. Get the roadies to pay for the roads

mackie1

No and no. Or is he talking about tax discs? Which would be £0 anyway and cost money to administer.

Reminds me of the story of the Pruis driver ranting at a cyclist... "I pay road tax!" hehehe.

Thewaylander

Yeh but the Driver is Licensed to use the public higway cyclist are not.

I think there should be a test where you can have it taken away if you ride like a complete pleb which half the commuters i see do.

mackie1

Do you REALLY want to have to have cycling license?

Cyclists are not required to have a license and are not required to purchase a tax disc to use the roads, but they have just as much right to as a car driver (with some notable exceptions - e.g. motorways).

Some 3rd party insurance and a helmet are probably a good idea but I don't think there should be any more controls than there are currently. Concentrate instead on educating people about how to ride (and drive!) safely. Do they still do cycling proficiency in schools?

Thewaylander

Honestly yes i do,

Alot of cyclist i see going up the raod are plain dangerous, trying move into blind spots so they can get ahead, poorly indicating where there going and so on. To be able to use carriage way i think you should have to have the same road knoledge as a car driver for safety.

Had one the other day, spotted him moving to my left asi was about to go left on a round about, as he went through my blind spot i wound my window down as i was about to pull out so and he would have been wiped if i wasn't paying alot of attention and pulled out like i was entitled, i might have killed him, what i did do was say out my window you be dead now if i wasn't watching and let him go.

scarbs85

Pedestrians use roads/pavements too. Maybe you should have to take a walking test and staple a taxdisc to your bum before your allowed to use pavements or cross roads. I see pedestrians walking over crossings without looking or just not caring. Besides what would taking a test achieve? Every motorist has a licence (I hope) but doesn't stop half of them driving like absolute morons.

Thewaylander

True but on my commute to work the largeer percentage of nightmares i see are the commuters in my area.

And pedestrians use the foot path you don't get them using a round about in appropriately very often cyclist all the damn time :S

Basic theory should be a must to be allowed to use the road, the amount of cyclists i see going through stop signs, also half of them don't seem to understand what a red light is.

If you are a road user you should be taught the rules of the road simple!

.blitz

Thewaylander wrote:

Alot of cyclist i see going up the raod are plain dangerous, trying move into blind spots so they can get ahead, poorly indicating where there going and so on. To be able to use carriage way i think you should have to have the same road knoledge as a car driver for safety.

This is very true. I don't know what it is about road cyclists but they seem to think they are exempt from every rule of the road/pavement and indestructable as well. I look out for cyclists and there are just a few around Stafford who have been doing it for years and ride appropriately/respectfully, and other road users are respectful to them but the rest...jeez it's like they have a death wish or something.

edhornby

explain to me how the administration of this system will work

every bike will have a VIN and a numberplate yes?

FAIL

Kaise

erm....tax disc to use the roads......FAIL

There hasn't been "Road Tax" for a few years now, the disc you put in your window is Vehicle Excise Duty, and is calulated on the pollutants your car/bike/truck make. The roads are paid for out of you standard income tax etc

Therefore a bike would be free!

I dont agree with an actual license, but a compulsory cycling proficency to kids at schools might be an idea, or you could just take them to the scene where there has been a cyclist vs car incident and make them watch them being cleaned off the road. Seen it and trust me, made me cycle safer when i next went on the road!

Thewaylander

These days electronic tagging is so cheap its easy.

We all pay a good bit for our road licenses, so in comparisona little digital tag you can attach the bike is pretty easy to sort and easily scanned by traffic officers and very cheap . So Ed no you FAIL

Thewaylander

I cant agree witht he being let on the road with out being int he least bit licensed.

How can you be a safe road user if you haven't had to learn how a round about works or so on. And no not all cyclists have a driving license.

Im not talking a full practical though i don't think that is a bad idea but a full theory with a reaction/situation test just like the driving current theories is a must. point out the error, and basic road rules. if you don't know road rules no road use is my veiw.

Mental Mickey

Thewaylander wrote:

These days electronic tagging is so cheap its easy.

We all pay a good bit for our road licenses, so in comparisona little digital tag you can attach the bike is pretty easy to sort and easily scanned by traffic officers and very cheap . So Ed no you FAIL

Yet you sound like a little hitler, jobsworth, epilette wearing busy body, so as a human being YOU FAIL.

Thewaylander

Mental Mickey wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

These days electronic tagging is so cheap its easy.

We all pay a good bit for our road licenses, so in comparisona little digital tag you can attach the bike is pretty easy to sort and easily scanned by traffic officers and very cheap . So Ed no you FAIL

Yet you sound like a little hitler, jobsworth, epilette wearing busy body, so as a human being YOU FAIL.

No you FAIL because you just went personal instead of discussing the topic. this is General not the crudcratcher.

Simple fact is anyone on the road who isn't sure what there doing is a danger to other road users, and with the amount of road users these days beign extremely high, it only makes good common sene to ensure everyone is aware of the rules which in the end could save lives. Simplest way to ensure this is a basic test.

t0pc4t

as a regular commuter myself sometimes the behaviour of other cyclists is pretty appalling. I don't think this is down to ignorance of the rules of the road, some cyclists think they're above those rules.

Some car drivers also seem to think the same, you would presume they have licenses

I don't see how licensing cyclists would help with that issue really. Besides, how would you do it for kids, they have to do the test once they're off stabilisers, or should it start right from the tricycle stage?

Furthermore this is all based on the assumption that the rider observing all these flaws is the model of perfection when it comes to courteous riding.

I'm certainly not, I try to be but I make mistakes all the time.

Kaise

ok so a test is imposed on everyone, the company is governemnt run and the the test cost money which everyone pays for. This will put people off cycling, people like my mrs who is actually pretty safe on the road, and in turn the lower number of people in cycling means the parts/bikes me and you buy will be more expensive. Standard model of consumer buying reducing the cost for everyone else.

The next thing is everyone pass, woohoo, brilliant job, nice one, you've taught the world the rules of cycling. Johnny Newbike hits the streets commuting to work and does stick with the rules and causes an accident, what next?

If you say arrested and their bike taken away, the police already have this power under social behaviour acts as well as traffic management.

All i am saying is you can educate all you like with tests and courses, but it doesnt make them any safer,

you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink

Thewaylander

Everyone pay's for there driving test which is now extornsionate,


But most of what is needed exists in the driving theory test, and people should complete it to ensure they have a basic understanding. Thisshould apply to roads used for commuting basic duel carriage ways and so on it's not that hard to manage though i can see your points with kids and so on.

But I just can't agree with people who use the road who have no knoledge of it I haven't seen cycling profieceny done since i was at school.

And i see you guys coming back against car drivers and i think most drivers are idiots too, but because they have a license we can fine them for being arses when caught. Alsp threaten to take those rights. This isn't a car vs bike thought, It's a general if the road has rules, like don't undertake and so on then everyone should be made to learn them within a reasonable limit. What that limit is i couldn't say. but a theory test is only £40 or so

cooldad

It's not going to happen, so an academic waste of server space.

shm_uk

Cyclists are not required to have a license and are not required to purchase a tax disc to use the roads, but they have just as much right to as a car driver

No one using a motor vehicle has a right to the road. They have permission to use it if they pass a ridiculously simple test, have their vehicle tested to check it's roadworthy, insure themselves againt the damage they can cause and pay a duty to compensate the rest of us for their emissions.

That permission can be and is removed if they misbehave.

The only people with a right to the road are pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders. And pedestrians have their own little roads called "pavements".

Thewaylander

I've heard notices of potential bike insurance being mention in council cirlces before... So wierder things have happened.

northstar

never going to happen tbf.

edhornby

ok the use of the word fail wasn't meant to be personal, apologies if misunderstood

my point was that bikes can be imported in their thousands on a container ship and you can build/scrap them at home so trying to control and tax them in the way you can for a car is not viable, cars aren't tagged electronically (yet) - and bikes produce no emissions, generate no road wear so there's no benefit to taxing bikes

kind of off topic but cyclists subsidise motorists - local councils pay for the roads in their boundary which we can all use (cars and bikes) so even stevens on that point - but motorways are paid for directly by the exchequer, taxpaying cyclists can't use a motorway so we pay for something we can't use

mackie1

Teach kids the highway code and to ride defensively at school and leave it at that. The police can already prosecute cyclists for being bellends.

mackie1

shm_uk wrote:

Cyclists are not required to have a license and are not required to purchase a tax disc to use the roads, but they have just as much right to as a car driver

No one using a motor vehicle has a right to the road. They have permission to use it if they pass a ridiculously simple test, have their vehicle tested to check it's roadworthy, insure themselves againt the damage they can cause and pay a duty to compensate the rest of us for their emissions.

That permission can be and is removed if they misbehave.

The only people with a right to the road are pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders. And pedestrians have their own little roads called "pavements".

Oh I agree completely. Try telling that to the "I pay road tax!" brigade though. The idea that the roads are primarily for cars is firmly entrenched with many.

Thewaylander

edhornby wrote:

ok the use of the word fail wasn't meant to be personal, apologies if misunderstood

my point was that bikes can be imported in their thousands on a container ship and you can build/scrap them at home so trying to control and tax them in the way you can for a car is not viable, cars aren't tagged electronically (yet) - and bikes produce no emissions, generate no road wear so there's no benefit to taxing bikes

kind of off topic but cyclists subsidise motorists - local councils pay for the roads in their boundary which we can all use (cars and bikes) so even stevens on that point - but motorways are paid for directly by the exchequer, taxpaying cyclists can't use a motorway so we pay for something we can't use

Fair enough can't say politer than that.

Not on about tax though, just safety on the road, road safety for the bike at school is ok but i opted out of cycle stuff at my school so never did it, just need a more thorough check that people are aware. And have decent knoledge of the highway code and so on. Just for pure safety of cyclists, uninformed cyclist including myself in this are dangerous ones. Really please do not take me as a car over commuter guy.

Now since I have my driving license i should undertand the code and i think thats enough. But for people who can't drive never driven and so don't know the rules of the road to stay alive and that carss do have blind spots are really risiking themselves. and sadly some por drivers reputation and consience if he throws himself in front of the wheels.

We do need a better way of controlling road users, its jsut a case of how do we educate people in a complete maner.

bails87

Waylander, do you cycle on the roads much?

If not, then try it. The number of stupid drivers you notice will increase tenfold!

The police can't enforce current traffic laws (how many drivers break the speed limit, use mobile phones, drink drive, don't indicate, accelerate through amber lights, go through reds etc?). So how are they going to find time to pull people over and scan their bikes for an electronic license?

Do you have one license per bike? One per person? What if you share bikes? What if the license is embedded in the seat post and you swap it for a dropper? Or it's in the frame and you get a new one? How will bike hire schemes work? Will a newbie cyclist who wants to try it out have to buy a license before they can ride on a trail? What about at at trail centre, if they rent out bikes will they have to check the licenses of people before they give them a bike? After all, they might take it on the roads.

For the vast, vast, vast majority of the time, cycling ins't dangerous, and cyclists aren't dangerous. If they are, then they can be dealt with using existing legislation.

The reason that you haven't seen cycling proficiency since you were at school could be because....er....they do it at school.... They're still doing it round here, and many councils offer Bikeability training.

When I'm on the bike, if I hit anything, I'm going ot suffer for it. So I naturally avoid any collision, on pain of death....literally! But for the impatient driver behind me, or the driver who doesn't check his mirrors and blind spots before he pulls away, a collision will mean filling out some paperwork so that the insurance co agree to pay for the scratch repairs.

As it happens I've never jumped a red light, driving or riding, but I've nearly been run over three times in the same place by 4x4s jumping reds whilst speeding. Right outside a primary school. :roll:

bails87

If you consider yourself 'unskilled' and you're going to ride on the roads, read CycleCraft by John Franklin. It could be a lifesaver.