Forum Topic

Thank you

To the cyclist riding the wrong way up Lower Boston Road this evening with whom I remonstrated, thank you for returning to spit at me through my open window it enabled me to capture your image beautifully on dash cam along with your saliva sample. I won't be doing anything but I'm pretty sure the police will. Thanks again.

N V Brooks ● 179d44 Comments

1.No, down to the police to pursue if they feel it's worth it.2. Don't know, haven't checked.Found those peer-reviewed articles yet?

N V Brooks ● 174d

Is that going to be your next petition on Change.org, Nigel?Incidentally, how are the numbers looking on your petition to make it mandatory to use hands-free?

Ben Owen ● 175d

Who was that a reply to,NV?

Keith Iddon ● 175d

I have always thought cyclists should be made to wear a helmet for several ereasons,one being to discourage those little child 'ganstas'who pedal about delivering drugs to,quite often to someone from the middle class.It would be easy for the old bill to pull them if they did not don a lid.But now I realise cyclists are a breed apart when it comes to law makers or compromise and there are never any police around to prevent crime and unphold the law.

Keith Iddon ● 175d

'Road Tax' has not been paid for decades so can we just kill tham argument please? Roads are paid for from general taxation. VED is, in effect, a 'right to use' tax, currently based on emissions and vehicle cost. This has to change as most EVs are zero emission but still use road space. I would like to see a precept on the sale of all new bikes raised to reflect the provisions made for them along with mandatory testing and licencing of ALL road users

N V Brooks ● 175d

VED will of course change in the near future and all vehicles will end up paying it. It’s a lucrative revenue source.What you think is actually irrelevant Paul as you don’t seem to know anything worthwhile.

Simon Hayes ● 175d

>motorists are legally obliged to pay it for driving on roads.This is untrue, not all motor vehicles pay it Peter, just those that emit CO2.Again, my bicycle has zero CO" emissions, like a Tesla, and neither have to pay VED. So Peter, again, where do I send my £0?A fully electric car does not pay VED, nor do many other types of motor vehicles, including those registered for disabled people.Road Tax as a hypothecated tax for roads was abolished decades ago.

Paul James ● 175d

So, not peer reviewed, therefore simply opinion pieces and worthless .

N V Brooks ● 175d

Well Ben, you really need to see life from the perspective of normal people.There’s nothing wrong with cycling, but it doesn’t make you smarter, sexier or anything else. It’s just something some people do.What your articles probably don’t mention is that bikes are the preferred mode of transport for lots of drug dealers. Any number of them coming in and out of places like the Clayponds Estate and dealing in broad daylight on the streets.

Simon Hayes ● 175d

I just googled “why do cyclists ignore traffic regulations “?Untold answers there. You can google any topic to suit your requirements

Peter Yale ● 175d

Good try, Nigel, with your swipe at those reports being peer validated sources. Not one bit; it came from a simple Google search on something like "why do cyclists make better drivers?" I know as much about the authors as you do.From my Googling I came across many of these type of reports, as well a report that claims cyclists to be better people than drivers! Go and find it for yourself.

Ben Owen ● 175d

Perhaps should have added, skill as a driver does not stop one being a totally crap cyclist

N V Brooks ● 175d

One question for you BenPeer validated sources?

N V Brooks ● 175d

Ben1) they don’t2) drivers do a 2 part intense test, before being deemed competent enough to drive on the roads.Cyclists, what??????A non compulsory proficiency test!!!Half the cyclists I see have a death wish & total disregard for the law.Dunno where you & PJ (if you’re not the same people) dream up this nonsense

Peter Yale ● 176d

Car tax disc, ved whatever, the name is (as PC James is aware) is that motorists are legally obliged to pay it for driving on roads.Cyclists pay nothing, yet shout for most, which he is also aware.Car tax was not abolished as per the fairytale he cited

Peter Yale ● 176d

Now you are being silly Ben. All anyone would have to do in your fantasy workday is say they don’t know how to ride a bike.The issue is actually careless and reckless cycling (ie on a bicycle, not in a car). Clearly that safe driving doesn’t apply to the idiots on bikes who jump red lights, speed out if side road’s without looking, ride on the pavement and all the other infringements so often witnessed.Your argument is simply barrel scraping deflection.

Simon Hayes ● 176d

Two questions, for Nigel, Peter and Simon:1. Why do cyclists make better drivers?2. When driving, why do cyclists have 50% fewer crashes than non-cyclists?Since this is the case, should not every driver be made to do some kind of cycle training to make OUR roads safer and calmer? Exceptions apply, as previously stated.

Ben Owen ● 176d

So, even if bicycles came under the VED regime (which would be silly as that would be a lot of paperwork for nothing) they would still be zero rated as they don't emit CO2, so £0 to pay.Where do I send my £0 for my bike Peter?

Paul James ● 176d

Peter, VED is based on the emissions of the vehicle, it's a tax for emitting CO2 whilst using public roads.Check here, although not all cars that emit CO2 are subject to it.https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tablesFully electric vehicles do not pay it as they don't generate CO2 whilst in use, and neither do bicycles, or horses, or pedestrians.Road tax was abolished decades ago by Winston Churchill on the basis that it didn't actually cover the cost and people that paid it thought they owned the roads above people that didn't (an attitude that still persists in some!).

Paul James ● 176d

We all pay tax. Motorists pay a specific tax for legally being allowed on the road, as you are fully aware.Cyclists don’t, but should do.

Peter Yale ● 176d

Sounds like you should pay a lot more for those cycle lanes that cost so much. If it was only those who use them paying for them then the cost per head would be astronomic. Upwards of half a million quid per kilometer of segregated lane, and barely anyone using them….

Simon Hayes ● 177d

Peter, I pay council tax, a part of which is a charge for highways, i.e. roads. How am I not paying for roads?VED, which I don't pay as I don't own a car, is not spent on roads, it just goes into the general bank account.And what if I as a cyclist pay more overall tax than you, which means I contribute MORE to road funding than you do, despite not owning a car?

Paul James ● 177d

When I think of everybody I know who cycles I really do struggle to get beyond 6 people who don't hold a UK driving license.Not only would I'd like to see cycling as a component of the driving test (1 hour cycling; exemptions apply to the disabled and those who don't know how to ride a bike), but there is strong evidence that cyclists make better drivers.Google "cyclists make better drivers' to find all the different  papers written from across the world. Here is just one such link, from a car insurance company:When I think of everybody I know who cycles I really do struggle to get beyond 6 of those who don't hold a UK driving license.Not only would I'd like to see cycling as a component of the driving test (1 hour cycling; exemptions apply to the disabled and those who don't know how to ride a bike), but there is strong evidence that cyclists make better drivers. You will snakeGoogle "cyclists make better drivers" to find all the different  papers written from across the world. Here is one link: https://www.carinsurance4cyclists.com/car-insurance-news/cyclists-are-safer-car-drivers/

Ben Owen ● 177d

No

Peter Yale ● 177d

I think your point is that bicycles, like many other types of vehicle, are not subject to VED.VED is a charge based on emissions of the vehicle, it's not spent on roads, they are paid for out of council tax (check your bill) and general taxation.So, when I cycle hire an I not cintributing to road upkeeep  given I pay tax and council tax?

Paul James ● 177d

Not my point Mr James.And you know it.

Rosco White ● 177d

Of course it’s true.Facts, motorists have a license, They have insurance Roadworthy vehicle - motTax disc Registration plateCyclist have none, allowed to use the road in exactly the same way as cars.Cameras/cctv capture & entrap motorists. Cyclists not. Simple

Peter Yale ● 177d

In future, I shall neither swerve nor emergency brake and will allow those desirous of becoming organ donors to achieve their wish.  I say that that, but of course I am not a brainless moron like so many road users.

N V Brooks ● 177d

Sadly for you Paul the police have more pressing matters to attend to than looking for people who upset you. Strange that, eh?

Simon Hayes ● 177d

>"I gave police his registration..." and that, Mr James, is exactly where your case crumbles.and you read the rest of my post right? What did the police do with that registration?

Paul James ● 177d

>which only motorists are.Again, this is untrue. Please stop writing stuff which isn't true Peter.

Paul James ● 177d

One wonders if those kamikaze cyclists who ride through red lights and don’t stop at junctions with busy roads transfer those habits to their car driving. Could’ve a case of biter but in Ben Owen’s case.

Simon Hayes ● 177d

Yawn, same old, same old. Round and round in circles you all go.Isn’t the point that it’s people who cause the problems, not the mode of transport they use? Yes, there are irresponsible car drivers, but there are irresponsible cyclists, bus drivers, even irresponsible pedestrians.Rather than proposing ever more restrictions on movement, favoured  by the mouth-frothing cycling zealots, why not actually improve the standards of driving, as well as making cycling proficiency tests compulsory?

Simon Hayes ● 177d

You answered the issue yourself. Share the road- even though cyclists want bike lanes everywhere, roads closed by ltns.Cyclists need registration & some form of financial input such as insurance, an identification plate. Fined for traffic infringements, which only motorists are.I saw a cyclist belting down the road, no lights, slaloming on & off pavement.We can all cite cases

Peter Yale ● 177d

Never contemplated opening up a thread on here about the 2 BMW drivers speeding down Queens Drive, near North Ealing Station travelling east towards West Acton Station, yesterday evening (Sunday). They were racing each other, both must have been doing at least 40, maybe 50. Really scary for me when riding uphill and had to take evasive action by swerving towards the pavement to feel safe. Or I seriously felt that I could have been another cyclist killed by a driver. The second point is that the vast majority of adult cyclists also drive, although not as regularly as some of you. For example, those that belong to a car club do pay VED through our membership fees. Yesterday, my ride from Kentish Town to Hanwell took me 65 minutes or so.  Current traffic conditions quote 44 minutes by car.  Well, if you want to pay £'000's of pounds to save roughly 21 minutes that's a big price to pay, but it doesn't mean you own the road. It neither prompts you to mention the 3 out of 10 drivers who don't have (adequate) insurance. Just overlook the topic, like most do. Share the road and bear in mind that nobody has more of a right than anyone else to be on the road. Using numbers alone, you could also factor in that there are far more drivers who are lunatics than the total number of cyclists who cycle daily on the road.Five people die every day on the road in the UK. I would be keen to know how many were distracted, at the time of their crash, by holding a phone or having a hands free conversation.

Ben Owen ● 177d

>but of course as they are untraceable, unidentifiable, unregistered. Not possibleYou can't recall ANY mention of incidents involving people on bikes in the news then?

Paul James ● 177d

>Cyclists pay NOTHING, but enjoy ALL the benefits of road usage.I don't have a car and mostly walk take public transport or cycle.I pay council tax, and income tax.What was that about not paying anything?

Paul James ● 177d

"I gave police his registration..." and that, Mr James, is exactly where your case crumbles.As has been said, we have virtually zero chance of tracing an errant cyclist.Cyclists pay NOTHING, but enjoy ALL the benefits of road usage.That's really, REALLY fair and equitable isn't it.  🤣

Rosco White ● 178d

Should have clipped his handlebars & knocked him off.Try to take legal action against cyclist, but of course as they are untraceable, unidentifiable, unregistered etc. Not possible

Peter Yale ● 178d

Thanks, so do I. Encouraging noises were made which means that it is already in a bin!

N V Brooks ● 179d

I've been spat at by a driver Nigel, he drove into me on a back street after driving round a dog leg bend, then when I asked him to stop he spat at me and drove off.I gave police his registration, but they said the car wasn't registered and closed the case.I hope the police have more luck with yours.

Paul James ● 179d

Car not far.No condemnation of the flagrant cycling lawbreaker then Paul?

N V Brooks ● 179d

I do, they don't.Of course, the disgusting individual who spat at me while my wife and son were with me in the far MAY be identified from the dashcam footage.

N V Brooks ● 179d

You want to try remonstrating with drivers to put their mobile phone down Nigel, sometimes they try and kill you!

Paul James ● 179d