More drivel from the Derby Telegraph

Tom Butcher

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Cyclists-pay-fair-share-tax-insurance/story-13185481-detail/story.html

Typical of the rubbish they print - will be heading down the newsagent to cancel the paper later - been planning to do so for a while so I should really thank this journalist for spurring me into action.

craker

:shock:

Where does one start?

Having just returned from Dresden with its brilliant public transport system, there were bikes everywhere - families, commuters, roadies.. I think the Germans have got the balance so much better than we have.

derbygrimpeur

absolutely incredible.

I guess there's no point in highlighting to her that there is no such thing as road tax in this country and that most cyclists probably already pay vehicle exercise duty, council tax, income tax etc. just like other road users.

redddraggon

I don't pay "Road Tax" and nor do I pay VED for my Fiat 500, so why I should I pay it to ride a bike?

mouth

redddraggon wrote:

I don't pay "Road Tax" and nor do I pay VED for my Fiat 500, so why I should I pay it to ride a bike?

+1

Though I hate to be Devil's Advocate, I kind of agree with the insurance, as a cyclist could quite easily be liable to cause a collision - and have seen this happen. I would also like to see some sort of compulsory formal education. Thinking along the lines of CBT here.

As for "road tax" or VED or whatever you want to call it, they can ****holes. VED is supposed to compensate for the pollution and damage to road and infrastructure. We (cyclists) cause little of either on a bike that weighs less than the exhaust system of a Fiat 500 which is VED free.

redddraggon

Mouth wrote:

Though I hate to be Devil's Advocate, I kind of agree with the insurance.

So do I, but don't most serious cyclists have insurance? I know if you a member of the CTC or have a BC License you have 3rd party insurance.

derbygrimpeur

yeah the insurance / test points are pointless really. Many "cyclists" in cities are just using a bike to get from A to B. They're not really cyclists and aren't likely to take a test or spend money on insurance. There are plenty of people that don't pay car insurance, VED etc. so why would they pay it for a bike.

Sirius631

If a cyclist is involved in an accident, they are more than likely not going to be leaving the scene under their own power, let alone making their escape rapidly. So there is plenty of opertunity for the polie to take their details, if they were culpable.

liamb93

hang on min i drive a carso pay road tax for that, i have bc silver mebership and race licence so am insured and if i had a collision with a car i would stop and give my details to the driver so whats the problem?

schlepcycling

I'd be more than happy to pay road tax because bikes are ZERO emission vehicles it'd be free anyway. I always wonder why people complain about this. If you can apply online like you can for a car once a year to pay nothing just to stop whining motorists then great I'm all for it. Obviously if it's tied to a registration and/or MOT type arrangement then not a chance.

spen666

liamb93 wrote:

hang on min i drive a carso pay road tax for that, i have bc silver mebership and race licence so am insured and if i had a collision with a car i would stop and give my details to the driver so whats the problem?

Please explain how you pay a tax that was abolished in the 1930s? No one else pays it

liamb93

spen666 wrote:

liamb93 wrote:

hang on min i drive a carso pay road tax for that, i have bc silver mebership and race licence so am insured and if i had a collision with a car i would stop and give my details to the driver so whats the problem?

Please explain how you pay a tax that was abolished in the 1930s? No one else pays it

ok i pay road fund licence or what ever they call it now £200s worth, you know that circle disk you put in your windscreen thats supposed to pay for the roads to be maintained but doesnt !

Pross

liamb93 wrote:

spen666 wrote:

liamb93 wrote:

hang on min i drive a carso pay road tax for that, i have bc silver mebership and race licence so am insured and if i had a collision with a car i would stop and give my details to the driver so whats the problem?

Please explain how you pay a tax that was abolished in the 1930s? No one else pays it

ok i pay road fund licence or what ever they call it now £200s worth, you know that circle disk you put in your windscreen thats supposed to pay for the roads to be maintained but doesnt !

That's the thing - it isn't intended to do that at all, it is just another random tax like income tax or VAT to provide money to the whole of the treasury. Most roads are maintained by Councils and are therefore paid from Council Tax with some of the money coming from central government grants. As others have said, vehicle excise duty is now based on CO2 emissions so a bike would be free in any case - many motorists are either too ignorant to know this or ignore it as it doesn't fit their argument and the same applies to the purpose of that tax.

Mike Healey

Can we stop being so precious about the phrase "road tax"? Whether we call it VED or the naughty words, it's still the same tax on taking a car on the road.

Until there is a sea-change in the knowledge and the attitude of the average British driver, they'll always come up with the same comment and they won't start shouting "I pay Vehicle Excise Duty". all we can do is keep pluggin away with the same arguments about zero carbon dioxide ouput, as near zero damage to the road surface as matters, virtually zero costs to other road users in collisions, ridiculous collection and enforcement costs, etc.

This should keep me going until I pop the wooden footwear - "No! CLOGS! you *%"*^ idiot!"