Road Tax Humour

KentPuncheur

Thought I'd share a humourous incident I experienced over the weeked.

On my way home after a day in the saddle at a set of traffic lights a Vauxhall hatchback stopped alongside me and the adolescent passenger decided to engage me in a verbal confrontation on the age-old cyclist/road tax debate...

"F***ing cyclists, you shouldn't be allowed on the road without paying tax..."
"I pay tax thank you very much"
"Not road tax"
"Yes I do, I own a car..."

The notion that a cyclist may actually own a car seemed to confuse the little chap. Turning for one last victorious glance at the passenger before cycling off, I noticed the car's tax disc...April 2012...i.e. out of date!
I pointed this out to the passenger and driver, to which faces redened and the banter ceased.

Priceless!

styxd

You dont pay road tax

t.m.h.n.e.t

noone pays road tax

Hoopdriver

There ain't no road tax

rolf_f

styxd wrote:

You dont pay road tax

is far too obscure a concept to be worth attempting at the lights.

And it's wrong - we all pay road tax. Just not a specifically defined tax. Telling people that 'no one pays road tax' during a traffic light argument when they are oblivious to the fact is just going to make them think you're mad as the implication is that the roads maintain themselves!

The OPs approach works on two levels as it blows their argument out of the water and it helps them to realise that being able to cycle and drive are not mutually exclusive.

GiantMike

Next time try the erudite...

"You sir, are a c0ck-sucking tw@t!!"

....and then have a proper fight at the side of the road.

p9uma

GiantMike wrote:

Next time try the erudite...

"You sir, are a c0ck-sucking tw@t!!"

....and then have a proper fight at the side of the road.

Thanks for that peanut butter/toast - iPad screen- interface moment.

veronese68

Sat in my Mum's volvo in a traffic queue many moons ago and a WPC knocked on the window and asked where my tax disc was. I pointed at it and said "what do you think that is?" She looked at it, then back at me and said "expired". Oh how I cringed. "It's my Mum's car, honest". She let me off with a stern look, a brief lecture and the sure knowledge that she'd be laughing about the spotty oik in his Mum's car.

Jay dubbleU

Historically the only three forms of transport entitled to be on the public highway are pedestrians, horses and bicycles - every other vehicle has to be granted a licence. If it wasn't for cyclists in the 1880s complaining about the state of the roads we wouldn't have the road system we have today.

team47b

p9uma wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

Next time try the erudite...

"You sir, are a c0ck-sucking tw@t!!"

....and then have a proper fight at the side of the road.

Thanks for that peanut butter/toast - iPad screen- interface moment.

What time of day do you eat breakfast? :shock:

p9uma

team47b wrote:

p9uma wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

Next time try the erudite...

"You sir, are a c0ck-sucking tw@t!!"

....and then have a proper fight at the side of the road.

Thanks for that peanut butter/toast - iPad screen- interface moment.

What time of day do you eat breakfast? :shock:

That wasn't breakky, that was my postcleaningmymotorbike reward. Well it would have been if half of it hadn't gone all over the iPad. NettieTheDog licked it off the screen though, so no harm done.

team47b

p9uma wrote:

team47b wrote:

p9uma wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

Next time try the erudite...

"You sir, are a c0ck-sucking tw@t!!"

....and then have a proper fight at the side of the road.

Thanks for that peanut butter/toast - iPad screen- interface moment.

What time of day do you eat breakfast? :shock:

That wasn't breakky, that was my postcleaningmymotorbike reward. Well it would have been if half of it hadn't gone all over the iPad. NettieTheDog licked it off the screen though, so no harm done.

Yeah I always forget that normal humans can eat what they like when they like

shouldbeinbed

"If it wasn't for cyclists in the 1880s complaining about the state of the roads we wouldn't have the road system we have today."

Couple of things.

1) is the profusion of roads something to brag about

2) it's a bit of a nonsense claim anyway. I seriously doubt car evolution would be stopped dead by poor roads (bike evolution wasn't) and I think in the intervening 130 years someone might come up with the same solutions even without bikes. The M road system are totally inventions of the auto culture too.

Jay dubbleU

shouldbeinbed wrote:

"If it wasn't for cyclists in the 1880s complaining about the state of the roads we wouldn't have the road system we have today."

Couple of things.

1) is the profusion of roads something to brag about

2) it's a bit of a nonsense claim anyway. I seriously doubt car evolution would be stopped dead by poor roads (bike evolution wasn't) and I think in the intervening 130 years someone might come up with the same solutions even without bikes. The M road system are totally inventions of the auto culture too.

Probably -but it was representations by cycling clubs that improved the road system as it was then - don't think it lead to an increased number of roads - my point which you seem to have missed is that cyclists, horses and pedestrians were using the highways long before the car culture.

Kieran_Burns

shouldbeinbed wrote:

"If it wasn't for cyclists in the 1880s complaining about the state of the roads we wouldn't have the road system we have today."

Couple of things.

1) is the profusion of roads something to brag about

2) it's a bit of a nonsense claim anyway. I seriously doubt car evolution would be stopped dead by poor roads (bike evolution wasn't) and I think in the intervening 130 years someone might come up with the same solutions even without bikes. The M road system are totally inventions of the auto culture too.

Actually my good man, they were created to ferry the Nazi war machine around Germany quickly. Please do read your history.

nevman

OOh its kicking off,been too quiet round here for a while.

Hoopdriver

For that matter the American Interstate system was designed to ferry the American war machine quickly around the States back in the tense days of the Cold War in the 1950s

slowondefy2

Vehicle Excise Duty is based upon CO2 emissions. Anyone know how to work out how much extra CO2 puts out per mile over a driver at rest?

Simmotino

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Actually my good man, they were created to ferry the Nazi war machine around Germany quickly. Please do read your history.

I claim Godwin's!

p9uma

Slightly off topic, but on the subject of road tax humour; am I alone in thinking that the amusing and witty "I PAYMYROADTAX" cycling jerseys, whilst make some smile, may only antagonise motorists of a negative disposition towards the cyclist?

Mettan

Another way of doing it in a brief 'discussion' is to say,

""about 90 % of cyclists are car drivers m8....... so we do pay road tax...... most cyclists pay road tax.......I own a (insert your car) and pay a fair chunk of tax for it.....""

of course, the above exagerates it a little - iirc or not, one 'study' suggested that around 83% of adult cyclists are motorists (don't remember the exact number), and of course we're talking about V.E.D - but, for a quick retort at the traffic lights the above will do nicely.

morstar

p9uma wrote:

Slightly off topic, but on the subject of road tax humour; am I alone in thinking that the amusing and witty "I PAYMYROADTAX" cycling jerseys, whilst make some smile, may only antagonise motorists of a negative disposition towards the cyclist?

Yeah, I think it's like riding round advertising "I want an argument". Not for me thanks.

I'll have the argument frequently when in the mood and hearing rubbish being spouted but when on a bike ride is neither the time nor the place for me.

simple_salmon

Mettan wrote:

Another way of doing it in a brief 'discussion' is to say,

""about 90 % of cyclists are car drivers m8....... so we do pay road tax...... most cyclists pay road tax.......I own a (insert your car) and pay a fair chunk of tax for it.....""

of course, the above exagerates it a little - iirc or not, one 'study' suggested that around 83% of adult cyclists are motorists (don't remember the exact number), and of course we're talking about V.E.D - but, for a quick retort at the traffic lights the above will do nicely.

I always worry that this argument reinforces the idea that cyclists who DON'T own cars, or pay any form of tax have less right to use the roads than those who do.

The truth is that all cyclists have a right to use the roads - full stop. We just do - get used to it.

FransJacques

Hoopdriver wrote:

For that matter the American Interstate system was designed to ferry the American war machine quickly around the States back in the tense days of the Cold War in the 1950s

The States got the idea of interstates from the Germans. A lot of Americans travelled to Europe in the early 1940s and those who came back took a lot of business ideas with them.

I get peeved at people yelling at me on the road tax thing - I'm in the 40% bracket plus I own 2 cars so I'm taxed to the hilt. Unf, I don't own a business so can't conveniently write everything off as a biz expense...

Anonymous

I normally skip the banter now and just give them a squirt in the face with my bottle. If it escalates, so be it, slapping bad drivers around can be character building. :P

mac111051

Any vehicle that does not produce pollution does not pay vehicle excise duty, electric cars are zero rated, cycles are zero rated. and that is your answer