Cyclists Cause Accidents! Make Cyclists Pay Road Tax & Insurance

Rhianne
#1. May 8th, 2007, at 8:23 PM.

Agree.

A few months ago, me and my Mum sat merrily in the car, jus turning into some long road that seemed to have quite alotta traffic on. Behind this junction, was a tunnel.

As we were just about to get onto this road, a cyclist, around the age of 50, he should know better…came straight out of this tunnel, oblivious to our car, the screeching of brakes, and the almost smash-up that could of occured behind us.

DOES THIS CYCLIST CARE? No! Of course he doesn’t. And the fact that cyclists aren’t meant to go through underground tunnels never crossed his stupid pompous mind.

Cyclists. What is the point of them if they won’t even use the cycle lanes and cut everyone up at traffic lights? Idiota.

Great entry MrCrip, I owe you.

Jacko
#2. May 13th, 2007, at 12:11 PM.

Never seen a cyclist on a road , they all whizz about on the pavements round my way!
Almost as bad as those fuckers in their motorised wheelchairs,they piss me off big style.

Jimbob
#3. June 28th, 2007, at 12:49 PM.

It seems as though there are a lot of foolish ideas and misconceptions here. Cyclists are not all one person and cannot be lumped together and judged. I personally follow the highway code and command my right to use the road whenever I want to. I don’t pollute peoples childrens air, I don’t kill anyone on the road and I don’t make the roads feel and sound horible whilst I do so. If cyclists have not been given propper training to use the road, this is a far cry from the stupid rants yu have given above. I suggest maybe you are the damger to other, the idiot in charge on the road, the fool with no consideration and a angst ridden and judgemental fuck wit. @McRcip

Proud Cyclist
#5. July 8th, 2007, at 2:28 PM.

What a STUPID comment to make! How many times has a cyclist killed someone? How much wear does a cyclist cause to roads? How much traffic do cyclists cause? How much damage do cyclists do to the environment? Exactly! That’s why car drivers pay road-tax and not cyclists. Not to mention the fact that cyclists ride on THE SIDE of the road! If we had to pay road tax we would all insist on riding in the middle and I bet you’d love that!

You are camplaining about cyclists when I think you should really be complaining about bad road users. There are plenty of cyclists AND cars who run red lights, do not indicate, and behave dangerously or carelessly on the roads. I of course totally agree that these people should be made to walk or stay at home.

And by the way, if someone like you ever got out of your car to verbally abuse me, I would be onto the phone to the police before you’d even got back into your car.

The cyclist who crashed into your car was obviously a moron and I bet they are just as stupid in their CAR. As for the damage, was this bike a prototype from Nasa or do you have a stupidly expensive car?

As for insurance… I personally think that bikes should be made to register and have number plates. I don’t agree with making cyclists have insurance, but number plates and registered bike users would at least ensure that cyclists could be traced if they caused an accident.

Now stop being such a silly old man.

Tonto
#8. March 13th, 2008, at 3:15 PM.

You poor poor deluded man road tax is calculated on emissions by the way. So as bikes give out none they are tax exempt.
so if we were to be all given tax disks you the car driver would have to pay for the cost of issuing them.
Also many cyclists are covered by some form of insurance for example ctc a cycling body gives 3rd party insurance to all of its members.
Silly silly prole

Shaun Hague
#9. March 13th, 2008, at 4:49 PM.

Okay, where do I start … ALL DISABLED PEOPLE SHOULD BE SHOT - they’re a drain on society and it’s not fair that I have to work hard and pay my taxes so all the crips can live the life of bloody Riley for free - bunch of scroungers!!!

Not very pleasant reading is it? (and not true either). Many of my disabled friends would shoot me if they thought I really meant that, as would my disabled wife - once she’d got in from work that is!

So, in the spirit of such outright ranting nonsense and misconceptions, let’s turn this ‘cyclists’ thing on it’s head:

ALL drivers are mindless twits who only care about themselves!

They ALL KILL people with their noisy, polluting, dangerous vehicles and they should ALL be banned from using roads. (This would free-up the roads for cyclists who have a right to use them.)

If an outright ban is out of the question, ALL cars should pay ?10,000 V.E.D. per year to pay for all the healthcare and funeral expenses they generate in all the accidents and deaths they cause.

I could go on in a similar fashion, but it’s pretty ridiculous really isn’t it!

Not all car drivers have poor driving skills, and equally not all cyclists have poor road skills either.

I would happily agree that there are a good many cyclists around that do not behave well on the road / pavement, and as both a keen cyclist and a car driver I find them frustrating.

However, the same also applies to a good number of car drivers too!

It would probably be more productive to look at positive ways of improving cycling skills in general.

Whilst you need to take lessons and prove a certain level of competence before you can take to the wheel of a car, there is no such requirement for cycling. Maybe there should be?

How about some positive thoughts on how we could improve the roads for everyone?

Regards,
Shaun

Arch
#10. March 13th, 2008, at 5:31 PM.

I’m a cyclist, and I do have insurance, so there. So do many - either through the CTC or British Cycling, or their ordinary household policies. If I was liable for ‘road tax’ (actually Vehicle Excise Duty), as a zero-emission vehicle, it would be rated at ?0. But it would cost money to administer, and that would have to be paid by drivers who do pay a fee. If you fancy paying more for me to have a free tax disc, go ahead. And many cyclists, of course, also own cars, so they do pay VED. BTW, the term Road Tax was abolished by Churchill in the ’30’s because he feared it would lead motorists to think they had some superior claim to the roads.

Also, of course, I don’t do any of the irresponsible things some cyclists do. I don’t condone it, and I’ll have a go at them if I catch them. Lumping me with them is like lumping all GPs with Harold Shipman. Or all drivers with the people who apparently drive with their eyes shut most of the time….

Kris
#11. March 13th, 2008, at 6:54 PM.

Whee!

Pete
#12. March 13th, 2008, at 7:01 PM.

‘cmon this is a wind-up, surely?

I cycle and drive. You learn a lot be being the most most vulnerable form of transport on the road. The most important lesson being, an idiot is an idiot regardless of his form of transport. Be thankful said idiots are not piloting 2 tons of metal in your vacinity. If they break the law, cyclists, can and are prosecuted, I’ve seen it many times in central London. Yes they do get away with it more than they should, but hell, I bet every time you get behind the wheel you will exceed the legal speed at some point, I know I do. It makes neither of you right.

I’ve had two hit and runs by cars and minor vandalism 3 times, presumably not requiring and form of transport whatsoever. I do not hold all motorists or indeed the general public collectively liable, because that’s not very constructive and frankly stupid.

You cannot tax a bike for the simple reason it isn’t a motor vehicle. A public highway is just that, which is why you don’t pay “road tax” on a pair of shoes, which you are also perfectly entitled to use on any road other than a motorway, just like a bike. I suppose you could specially extend it, then you come to the little issue that all vehicles emitting less than 100g/km of CO2, including all electric and many hybrids and certainly any man-powered machine are zero rated for VED anyway (since 2006).

Insurance is a good idea, it’s compulsory in Switzerland and costs ?3 a year, of which the insurance value is about 20p for 1,000,000 Swiss francs of 3rd party liability (?400,000) and the rest is the admin overhead for the scheme. This may give you some clue as to the relative risk of even an incompetent cyclist compared to you in your car. Probably a better argument to make might be compulsory general 3rd party insurance. It’s common in some countries.

You also talk about “using the roads for free”. How so? Motorways and trunk roads are paid for centrally, the rest are the responsibility of your local council. So anyone who pays income tax, council tax, VAT or any other tax DOES pay for the roads whether they cycle, drive or stay in bed all day.

“Dr Harold Shipman an Fred Weast were keen cyclists!”. They were both men and wore cardigans, what does this prove other than generalisations are meaningless rhetoric and not a valid form of argument.

“How much wear does a cyclist cause to roads?”. I don’t know, but I do know the largest artics allowed on the road do approximately 300,000 times the damage of and average car (about 20x the weight). So I’d guess the realistic life-expectancy of a surface used for cycling would be down to weathering rather than wear through wear.

“More than you imagine; I often see cyclists riding into houses that are using excessive amounts of electricity.” The average car is around 120kW, the average UK power consumption for a house is 10.63 kWH/day. If you drive for one hour, you’ll use more energy than an average house would in a week. Otto-cycle internal combustion engines are at very best 30%ish efficient in ideal conditions, less than 5% overall in general traffic.

Sorry, but you just come across as frustrated and pointlessly angry. Your blood-pressure, not mine. Rants are most effective when backed-up with some facts.

Sorry about your car. Next time you see a cyclist behaving like an idiot, just comfort yourself with the fact he’s massively more likely to kill or injure himself than anyone else.

psyclist
#13. March 14th, 2008, at 12:20 AM.

Jesus-fucking-Christ you’re an idiot. Your opinion only matters if and when you have a grasp of the facts. Here’s one; more cars pass through red lights than do cyclists. Here’s another; motorists are responsible for 3500 deaths every year in the UK. And how about this one for context?; Cyclists are responsible for between ZERO and THREE deaths every year. You’re barking up the wrong tree. Cyclists, equestrians and pedestrians are ENTITLED to use the roads, motorists require a LICENCE. Cyclists have more right to use the roads than motorists not less. It’s the law, if you don’t like it write to your MP. Good luck. Dickhead.

RT
#14. March 14th, 2008, at 12:57 AM.

I’m a cyclist and a lorry driver. And you’re a wind up merchant. Cyclists have every right to use the road without fear of intimidation from folk like you. If you weren’t obviously a pointless troll I’d put more thought into this reply.

Peter
#15. March 14th, 2008, at 9:47 AM.

It appears that Crip is as intellectually able as he is physically. Certainly seems to be suffering some sort of mental incontinence.

Ziggy
#17. March 28th, 2008, at 3:54 PM.

I am both a cyclist and a motorist. and would put money on it that although i use my car less than 90% of the people on here i pay more road tax than 90% of the people on here. Maybe if everyone both rode and drove they would be more apreciative of each other, and respect other people more. As a cyclist i dont jump lights and i never use the pavement. As a car driver i give cyclist room and treat them as i would want to be treated.

Maybe if cyclist were given the space the require and drivers actually learnt to drive properly then more cyclist would stay on the road and obey more of the rules

Machocyclismo
#18. May 16th, 2008, at 6:53 PM.

Most of you replying to Mr Crip seem to have missed the fact that he’s obviously a keen tree-hugger and bikie posing as a prejudiced and half-witted car driver in order to discredit car drivers and cause a civil war in which complacent fat arsed drivers will be wiped out in one day by cyclists who will crush their heads like walnuts between massively strong thighs. And that’s just what Mr Crap wants, obviously, to have his diseased head crushed between the pumping thighs of an Amazonian lady and put him out of his misery in the most exciting way imaginable.

What’s all this about cyclists being hippies? What about all the trad academic types in Oxbridge, or John Majors dames cycling across the village green? Or hairy-chested racers who can go a hundred miles every day for three weeks at superhuman speeds, and climb 1 in 4 mountains at fifteen miles per hour then charge down the other side at sixty - you think these guys are tree hugging anorak wearing hippies? Get a life.

Phil
#19. July 2nd, 2008, at 1:12 PM.

psyclist, you’re actually the idiot. Cyclists have no more rights to ride on the roads as cars do, requiring a licence has nothing to do with it. By your argument, motorists are more entitled to use the roads of the UK, because pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists aren’t allowed to ride on motorways, and in some cases, clearways.

Proud Cyclist, if you were to phone the police after vandalising my vehicle or breaking one of the laws of the road, I’d recommend you notify them of the citizen’s arrest that I’m going to put you under.

Ziggy, I’ll reverse “maybe if cyclist[sic] were given the space the[sic] require and drivers actually learnt to drive properly then more cyclist [sic] would stay on the road and obey more of the rules”, maybe if cyclists didn’t break the highway code, and learnt to cycle properly then more drivers would respect them. At the moment there’re rigorous tests to gain a full driving licence, but to be a cyclists all you need to do is hop on your bike and get going, if proficiency tests were mandatory there would be less problems.

Also, third-party insurance at £3 a year should definitly be compulsary for cyclists, with some form of number plate to identify them in a case of an accident / vandalism.

azimov
#21. July 4th, 2008, at 11:39 PM.

I’m sure we’ve all encountered that species of cyclist who gives all other cyclists a bad name: the mountain bike rider who only rides on roads, usually ten feet out from the pavement. Invariably male, middle-aged and stupid, he would never consider using a cycle designed for roads. No, he uses a 250lb mountain bike that will never see use on a mountain. He can only cycle about approx. 2.5 mph and never, NEVER stays near the pavement where it is safest. He is the scourge of bus drivers and all right thinking motorists who have to take evasive action to avoid flattening him as he drifts out into traffic. If you see him, do him a favour-run him over and prevent future accidents.

Shaun Hague
#23. July 11th, 2008, at 4:57 PM.

[azimov: … No, he uses a 250lb mountain bike that will never see use on a mountain …]

So, in other words, he’s a bit like most 4×4 owners who’s cars never go “off road”?

abx
#24. July 13th, 2008, at 8:20 PM.

All i want to say is today i was late for work because of about 5000 cyclists all deciding to ride togetherfor some reason and taking up a ridiculous amount of the road. cyclits riding about alone are fine but this was seriously dangerous. they were swerving around the poor cars that ended up getting surrounded by bikes and forced to travel at 2 mph. also part of the road was split into 3 lanes two going my way and one going the opposite way which was the direction the cyclits were traveling. but did they stay in the one lane which is a legal requirement to use a road?????? no of course they didn’t. they all decided to take up the lane i should have been in travelling head on with me. i had to slam on and swerve into my other lane to avoid running over god knows how many cyclists. I wa so unbelievably angry that they think they have a right to use the road (which yeah they do) but also think they have a right to ignore the rules which are in place. They pick and choose to suit whatever they want. and it wasn’t just a couple doing this it was hundreds taking over the wrong side of the road. Absolutely stupidly dangerous. how dare they think they can get away with stupid stunts like that. and to turn right to park my car took at least ten minutes waiting for a gap in the group of cyclits as every single one of the idiotic pricks kept going and wouldn’t let me cross.
if they had the slightest bit of consideration for other road users and followed the rules of the road like most good drivers they they wouldn’t get anywhere near as much abuse as what they do.

Shaun Hague
#25. July 24th, 2008, at 3:53 PM.

abx - I agree, you’re right, people should show some respect!

They shouldn’t run red lights, be pushy / agressive or inconsiderate, undertake/overtake where it’s not safe, go the wrong way, speed, take wrong turns and then inconvenience everyone trying to get back to where they were, use mobiles, bully other road users, put pedestrians at risk, ride on pavements, etc. etc.

Oh, and this also applies to cyclists too!

Cheers,
Shaun

Mongoose
#26. July 25th, 2008, at 12:39 AM.

As has been rare since finding your blog pages Mr Crip…..I completely and wholeheartedly agree with you!!!

Cyclists are a nightmare! Just add motorcycle and moped riders to the list and I’m completely onboard. In my opinion, and in addition to your points above, it should be completely legal with no consequences - nay your absolute duty to society - to be able to critically injure at full speed (even if breaking the speed limit!), any form of bike rider who is riding alongside their other bike riding friend! Those f**kers seriously irritate me….as do horse riders who do the same…..”slow down for horses” my arse!!! Stay in the fields and you won’t have a problem!! And as for any of the motorbikers, moped riders, or cyclists who ride on the right hand side of traffic rather than alongside the curb….you deserve to die!!!

Oh and going back to motorcyclists and moped riders, the TV advert says car drivers should look both ways before pulling out to check for them….I say f**k them….ride more sensibly rather than trying to break the lightspeed barrier and car drivers will be able to see you in good time!!!

Mongoose
#27. July 25th, 2008, at 1:03 AM.

A further reply….just read some of the responses….

Proud Cyclist - Cyclists cause a shitload of traffic when one of them has been rightly knocked off their bike for being a stupid c**t trying to f**k with a car!

Psyclist - “Cyclists have more right to use the roads than motorists not less. It’s the law” - is that really a law f**kface?! I don’t think so! Actually seeing as motorists pay road tax which pays for the upkeep of roads then I’d say motorists have more right to use them! By your logic then I have more right to use your wife than you, you might pay for her but I’ll just assume the right because it’s possible for me to f**k her….then again, you’re almost certainly single so I’ll just have to stick with what I’ve got!!

RT - Cyclists should be intimidated! Let’s break it down to basics, if you were on safari and an elephant was running at you, would you keep well out of the way or act like a tw*t and try to gob off and get in it’s way?! Law of the jungle son, law of the jungle!

MrCrip - Well said on pedestrian crossings…..cyclists note the key word pe….des….tri…..ans, that slow enough for you people who don’t realise that cars are the modern way of getting from A to B!!

oh, and to avoid the usual environmentalist debate on this issue, did you know that scientists actually say that the planet will get COOLER this year (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/30/eaclimate130.xml), not warmer! As Jeremy Clarkson said (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/clarkson/article1062588.ece):

“But now, the World Meteorological Organisation has announced that this year, the world will actually cool down a bit.

As a result, scientists are being forced to admit that the planet (which weighs 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms) is more resilient to the Range Rover (which weighs 3,000kg) than was first thought.”

Anyway, good article MrCrip….never has a truer word been spoken!

danny boi
#29. July 26th, 2008, at 12:15 PM.

my rant here is with mopeds because cyclists i have no time for if you cross my car then i wont stop shame you will put a dent in the bonnet but at least i can think one down so many to go. Any way are there any moped riders here if so listen up YOUR NOT IN THE FUCKING MOTO GP so dont use the fucking roads as your race track you look like dicks your hairdryer is not going to be quick no matter how many faggot neon lights you strap to it. so because your not in th gp dont try to race every thing you see at the lights or junction you will lose and you look like a cunt even trying.Also why do you lot insist in riding in groups its like hearing a swam of wasps and tell me do you really think it looks cool because if i had a 4×4 i would be the bowling ball you get what im saying and i wont miss STRIKE

Kouros
#30. August 1st, 2008, at 11:59 AM.

For what it’s worth, motorists do not pay “road tax” either. Motorists pay Vehicle Excise Duty, and this name difference is not just a technicality. The funds do not go directly towards paying for road maintenance, but rather go into the central tax “pot” along with other taxes. The motorways (which cyclists cannot use, obviously) are funded from this pot. Your council tax funds the construction of local roads. Cyclists pay council tax too.

There are, in fact, several cars available on the market today which do not pay anything for their licence (tax disc) and cars built before 1973 do not either.

I do think that it is drastically unfair that you should have to pay your excess because someone failed to stop after an accident. I’m sure that you know as well as I do that failing to stop after an accident is illegal for this very reason. Personally, it is not something I would ever consider doing, even if I were at fault. As it happens, I too have been on the receiving end of someone who failed to stop at the scene of an accident. It’s not nice.

With regards to insurance, personally I would not be against cyclists having insurance - in fact, I do, and many others do as well. The CTC provides insurance with its membership. So on these points, I agree.

I do think it is worth making the point that not all cyclists ignore the laws of the road, just like not all car drivers do. I have seen car drivers pass through red lights (one memorable occasion very nearly hitting a pedestrian). Some motorists drive too fast for the road conditions, and ignore the rights of other road users. Some even drive whilst intoxicated.

On a daily basis, I see cars parked illegally and without consideration for other drivers. On a daily basis, I see drivers perform maneouvres which endanger other drivers. I have seen a car driver block the slipway to a motorway because he had chosen the wrong exit, and tried to reverse back up it.

Despite having seen these events, I don’t assume that all drivers behave so irresponsibly. Please do not assume that all cyclists are irresponsible and outright threats such as suggesting that cyclists should be crushed with a tank are, at the very least, anti-social.

Oh, and for what it’s worth, I drive too.