Motorists, what to do about cyclists who constantly break the high way code???
Comments
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What do you mean "tax that doesn't exist"? I pay £300 road tax a year I am fairly sure that exists. I know that there are cars exempt from it, which I think is wrong. Imo all road users should contribute to it. I think it's ridiculous that "green" cars pay little or no tax, but that's a whole other issue that I won't go into.
Obviously not all cyclists are like that... I'm not suggesting they are. But it's a huge proportion of them as far as I can see. Far more dangerous cyclists than dangerous drivers. I seldom see drivers driving through red lights or going the wrong way down one way streets, or having their headlights switched off.
I just think cyclists should take more responsibility for their actions, and be more aware of their behaviour on the road. I don't see many ways of doing that other than policing or taxing.
hello again, out of interest, do you think the cyclist you notice dont take responsibility because of the improved driving standards of the four wheel variety, or because there is a influx in cycle users, or something else?Trinidad - The hottest place to go0 -
What do you mean "tax that doesn't exist"? I pay £300 road tax a year I am fairly sure that exists. I know that there are cars exempt from it, which I think is wrong. Imo all road users should contribute to it. I think it's ridiculous that "green" cars pay little or no tax, but that's a whole other issue that I won't go into.
Obviously not all cyclists are like that... I'm not suggesting they are. But it's a huge proportion of them as far as I can see. Far more dangerous cyclists than dangerous drivers. I seldom see drivers driving through red lights or going the wrong way down one way streets, or having their headlights switched off.
I just think cyclists should take more responsibility for their actions, and be more aware of their behaviour on the road. I don't see many ways of doing that other than policing or taxing.
Road tax does not exist, it was abolished in 1937
You pay £300 a year because you drive a hugely polluting inefficient vehicle. Vehicle Excise Duty (or vehicle tax) is charged based on how much CO2 your vehicle emits (or engine size for old cars), a bike would fall into band A, same as hybrids, electric cars and those with very efficient/small engines who pay £0. As there would be £0 coming from cyclists it would lose the government money to make cyclists register each bike for VED (and would probably need some sort of separate database costing £££ given bikes don't need an MOT or insurance).
Paying tax does not make a road user more responsible - as above some cars pay £0
On the rest of your comment, you have confirmation bias, it's well known in car drivers - you see a car go through a red light, you dismiss it as an idiot, you see a bike and your head explodes with anger as you claim all cyclists do it. If you rarely see cars jumping red lights I can only assume you drive less than 1000 miles a year as it happens constantly, simply search on youtube for dashcam videos and you'll see hundreds as well as speeding, tailgating, undertaking, driving on the phone, drink/tired driving etc.
You say there are far more dangerous drivers than cyclist - sorry, bull****, about 1800 drivers a year die in car crashes and kill and seriously injure thousands of pedestrians. About 1 pedestrian every 2-3 years is killed by a bike0 -
Please explain what a pinch point is and how increasing police enforcement at them would help.trinidadone wrote: »In regards to enforcement, more police at pinch points???0 -
Visibility - sometimes down to no reflections, sometimes they don't have lights or not very powerful lights. Cyclists should be equipped with very powerful lights just as cars are. I think it's awful how many bikes there are that I do not see until I am 10m behind them.
Yeah some cyclists are OK, probably most of them, but there are so many more dangerous cyclists than drivers that I see.
When I say shouting - I don't mean rude. I have to shout over the engine noise. Maybe it is rude, but someone needs to tell them. They don't go on safety courses like any driver must, they don't really have any accountability at all. The reactions I get are usually angry - they flip me off, tell me to F myself, and actually last week after I told a guy he shouldn't go the wrong way down the street he turned around and chased me through town!
Its probably not the most productive measure but it's simply a matter of letting someone know when they're doing something wrong. Just as I would flash/beep a dangerous driver, and I would hope that if I did something very dangerous, someone would let me know!
Thank you once again for your contribution, the thread is aimed at motorist, so thank you.
thanks for clarifying the visability issue, i can relate to that, i think even the reflectors on pedals and back and front of bikes come off, not sure if bikes have to have the minimum standards, motorist need to have when using the roads???
I agree with the powerful lights, i guess with so many lighting flooding the market, another poster said you can get lights for as cheap as £2.99 from a supermarket, not sure on their quality though!!
I guess we always remember the bad cyclists, and never the good ones, are are you in a city or town?
when you talk to the cyclist, do you wait for them to cycle pass you first?? I see you have received cycle rage then??? a cyclist cycled / ran after you, daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam, never got to that stage, on the very odd occassion I have confronted a cyclist, i often being ignored, especially when they have appeared in front of me on the one way street on the way home, which is such a tight road to use!!
Like you, i also flash / beep motorist when a daft thing happens!!Trinidad - The hottest place to go0 -
Well, this is a forum, people are very welcome to disagree with me!trinidadone wrote: »Hello again KMB, wow, your very brave to exercise that view point on this thread, especially as most contributors on here are cyclists and will react to your views.
your right, there are cyclist who dont fit lights to their bikes, i never really understand why, but they dont, however, I do see a lot of responsbile cyclist on the road, who have the full cycle gear, clothing, crash helmet, flashing lights etc... which is good.
Again, i completely understand as a motorist, sitting at a red traffic light, to find a cyclist fly pass on the left or right, and fly through red lights. But then I have seen responsible cyclists also.
Yes, maybe a contribution from cyclists might work, however I think that would never happon, as the government / local authorities are constantly promoting cycling due to the constant influx of car ownership, policies on saving thew planet, pollution, human health etc....
Insurance for a cycle, i dont know how that would work, but not something i have ever thought about so interesting view point.
You mention cyclist dont appear to be aware of the rules of the road, i think there are examples i see on the road which do exercise these rules, its just the idiots who seemly see the rods as a play area.
I cant agree that all cyclists who only cycle are clueless, I think that is going too far!!
thank you for your contribution though, and please, dont react to the expected abuse you will receive from cyclist on this thread, happy driving
I don't have any delusions that taxes of any sort would be imposed, but I still believe regardless that we need better measures to hold cyclists accountable for their actions.
I'm not sure how insurance would be implemented but I think it's something that should be considered. You can't use any other vehicles on public roads and go without insurance - I don't see why it should be different for cyclists.
In fact the only other exception is for horses! Which shouldn't be allowed on roads anyway in my opinion.0 -
Obviously not all cyclists are like that... I'm not suggesting they are. But it's a huge proportion of them as far as I can see. Far more dangerous cyclists than dangerous drivers. I seldom see drivers driving through red lights or going the wrong way down one way streets, or having their headlights switched off.
In 2013:
1,713 deaths from RTAs (reported) by cars:
398 pedestrians, 109 cyclists, 331 motorcyclists, 785 car drivers, 90 other road users
In year to March 2015:
1740 road deaths from cars
23570 killed or seriously injured
186060 road casualties of all severity
In 2012 there were 79 KSI incidents between bikes and pedestrians
Cyclists are clearly more dangerous!0 -
Well that's down to our different experiences. I tell you with my hand on my heart, that I experience a lot more dangerous cyclists than dangerous drivers. Then again I am not used to driving being surrounded by cyclists - if you're more used to them then maybe you don't see some of their dangerous behaviour as being too bad.Totally disagree. The number of examples of bad driving massively outweigh the examples of bad cycling that I see. Routinely on my journey to work I will see a fair number of drivers on their phone, not indicating, cutting dangerously into traffic, jumping lights. The difference is that I don't brand all drivers as being unsafe.0 -
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Well that's down to our different experiences. I tell you with my hand on my heart, that I experience a lot more dangerous cyclists than dangerous drivers. Then again I am not used to driving being surrounded by cyclists - if you're more used to them then maybe you don't see some of their dangerous behaviour as being too bad.
What do you call "dangerous"? You mean cyclists who risk their own life jumping red lights? As opposed to the 5 people a day killed by car drivers?0 -
The vehicle tax system being based on CO2 makes no sense and is out of line with every single other tax. Tax as a rule of thumb is based on how much money you have. Your income tax is determined by the value of your income. Council tax is determined by the value of your house. Vehicle tax should be determined by the value of your vehicle! Tax is meant to be that those who can afford it pay more. Why my £2000 car pays infinitely more tax than some brand new £20,000 cars... it makes no sense.Road tax does not exist, it was abolished in 1937
You pay £300 a year because you drive a hugely polluting inefficient vehicle. Vehicle Excise Duty (or vehicle tax) is charged based on how much CO2 your vehicle emits (or engine size for old cars), a bike would fall into band A, same as hybrids, electric cars and those with very efficient/small engines who pay £0. As there would be £0 coming from cyclists it would lose the government money to make cyclists register each bike for VED (and would probably need some sort of separate database costing £££ given bikes don't need an MOT or insurance).
Paying tax does not make a road user more responsible - as above some cars pay £0
On the rest of your comment, you have confirmation bias, it's well known in car drivers - you see a car go through a red light, you dismiss it as an idiot, you see a bike and your head explodes with anger as you claim all cyclists do it. If you rarely see cars jumping red lights I can only assume you drive less than 1000 miles a year as it happens constantly, simply search on youtube for dashcam videos and you'll see hundreds as well as speeding, tailgating, undertaking, driving on the phone, drink/tired driving etc.
You say there are far more dangerous drivers than cyclist - sorry, bull****, about 1800 drivers a year die in car crashes and kill and seriously injure thousands of pedestrians. About 1 pedestrian every 2-3 years is killed by a bike
"you have confirmation bias, it's well known in car drivers - you see a car go through a red light, you dismiss it as an idiot"
Why do you feel the need to insult me like this? It's true I rarely see it happen with cars. I see it a lot with bikes! I would feel just as spiteful to a car that did that. But I've maybe seen one car run a red light this year? Seen loads of bikes do it.
That being said there are no traffic lights within a 10 mile radius of either my house or my workplace so I don't face it every day.
There are no statistics on bike-caused accidents because bikes currently cannot be held accountable for any car crash. If a cyclist behaves erratically and forces a car to swerve and crash, then that's considered the fault of the driver and recorded as such. That's why I said we should BEGIN to consider cyclists as being liable for some car crashes.0
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