Why Don't Cyclists Use Cycle Lanes....

Johnmcl7

pixiehelper wrote: »

I understand what you are saying but my job involves driving to appointments all day and I have 15 mins allocated by my company to get to them on time and often get a lot of flack from customers if I am late so have no control over the time I am allocated. I have passed bikes with flashing lights and do not suffer from epilepsy but have had headaches and suffer from migraine. Also if someone purchases a new car the cost of tax has been incorporated in this so they would have paid road tax I do believe if everyone who used the roads whoever and whatever vehicle they use should pay road tax for the use of this service after all that is only fair surely and by using the road sensibly and ensure they are being seem is paramount for their own safety..

Actually you'll be pleased to know everyone does already pay for the roads - road tax was abolished in 1937 and funding for roads comes out of general taxation.

Flashing lights have been legal on bikes for several years now and I've not seen anyevidence that they cause any medical problems. Aside from anything else it's unlikely anyone is staring at them for any period of time, no different from a flashing indicator on a car. It's increasingly common for cars to use LEDs for their main lights which are not constantly on and have a high speed flickering effect.

John

RichardD1970

Nobody pays road tax, and if you mean VED, which a lot of cars don't pay as well, then that has absolutely nothing to do with the upkeep of the roads.

Yes, you pay tax on buying a new car, but you pay tax on buying a new bike or on most things that you buy. Money for the road network comes pout of general taxation so EVERYONE pays a share, whether they use the roads or not.

RichardD1970

Oh and just to add. I and most cyclist own cars, i also own a motor scooter, so pay two lots of VED.

So if I am on my bike and am using the roads, which in you opinion I have paid for twice, but not having nearly as much impact on the structure of that road so saving the councils money on road repairs.

I deserve a refund on my council tax! :rotfl:

j0nathon2

I am a cyclist. I am a driver. I am an employee. I purchase goods. I live in a house.

Therefore I pay:

VAT (on my bicycle, clothing, and related goods)
VED on my car (there are three cars in my household)
Income Tax on my salary
VAT on lots of other goods
Council Tax

I think therefore I do pay for the roads - something that annoys me every time I ride over pothole and feel it through my hands to my neck! Nobody pays Road Tax, so in your world the roads would be empty. However, in terms of VED, many small cars are in the £0 price band, so where should they drive, the small car lane?

I have never once blamed a cyclist for making me late to work - I must try it one day.

I also suffer from Epilepsy and bike lights don't affect me (although neither do strobe lights, as with most Epileptics I am not actually photosensitive). However, as somebody above said, to be legal the bike lights must flash at a relatively slow rate, a rate at which the majority, if not all, photosensitive epileptics would not be affected either, and if it did affect you don't look at the lights?

custardy

pixiehelper wrote: »

I understand what you are saying but my job involves driving to appointments all day and I have 15 mins allocated by my company to get to them on time and often get a lot of flack from customers if I am late so have no control over the time I am allocated. I have passed bikes with flashing lights and do not suffer from epilepsy but have had headaches and suffer from migraine. Also if someone purchases a new car the cost of tax has been incorporated in this so they would have paid road tax I do believe if everyone who used the roads whoever and whatever vehicle they use should pay road tax for the use of this service after all that is only fair surely and by using the road sensibly and ensure they are being seem is paramount for their own safety..

You have no idea

Marco_Panettone

Do you favour a new 'pavement tax' too - after all, it's only fair...


Alternatively you could read and understand what VED is, and how it is calculated. If you still feel that cyclists should pay VED you should contact your MP to suggest it as a change in the law would be required, rather than writing ill-informed rubbish on internet forums.

Cloudydaze

pixiehelper wrote: »

cyclist was holding up the traffic and when I arrived late my client was not impressed surely we need to look at cycling and the bigger picture to what it affects.I also wonder if flashing lights on bikes can have an affect on people who suffer from epilepsy and trigger fits.

Maybe your client wasn't impressed because you told him/her that you were held up by a cyclist and they are in fact a cyclist themselves and could not believe the rubbish you were spouting.

Maybe you should think about the bigger picture. If all cyclists drove a car instead, then traffic congestion would increase and you'd be even later for your appointments and your clients will be even less impressed.

silverwhistle

pixiehelper wrote: »

I understand what you are saying but my job involves driving to appointments all day and I have 15 mins allocated by my company to get to them on time and often get a lot of flack from customers if I am late so have no control over the time I am allocated.

I presume you don't have any written communication with your clients? Anyway, the above situation is more to do with your employers, and I'd suggest having a go at them and not on an internet board, where all you have succeeded in doing is showing you don't know anything about the subject.

Incidentally, couldn't you use a scooter: it might be quicker if you are doing lots of urban appointments?

Frugalsod

RichardD1970 wrote: »

Oh and just to add. I and most cyclist own cars, i also own a motor scooter, so pay two lots of VED.

So if I am on my bike and am using the roads, which in you opinion I have paid for twice, but not having nearly as much impact on the structure of that road so saving the councils money on road repairs.

I deserve a refund on my council tax! :rotfl:

Another thing that people need to consider is that cyclists do almost no damage to roads. A single lorry does as much damage as many thousand cars, and billions of cyclists. So the cost of collecting a road tax from cyclists would be grossly out of alignment with the damage that they do. Your scooter is also considerably less damaging than a car so in some respects you should get the VED free because you are not driving a car.

The fact that many cyclists do not use the cycle lanes is because they are sometimes blocked by motorists, and the lanes are badly designed in the first place. In Hove, one cycle lane is on paving slabs which are uneven so cyclists prefer to cycle on the tarmac pavement. Which ever planner came up with those should be sacked.

Isabella_Duke

I read somewhere that if cyclists were to pay VED on the basis of the amount of the road that they take up, the wear and tear they cause on the road surface and the mileage they do on the roads in proportion to cars then the VED would be around 2 pence per annum (£0.02).


The cost of collecting VED from cyclists would far outweigh the amount raised.