To suggest cyclists need to be licensed

[savethebeesandthecees]

And also pay Road Tax and risk having their licence revoked for misuse.

I'm saying this as a pedestrian. Nearly hit again by a cyclist going through a red light. Others routinely mount the pavement to swerve red lights. I'm sick of it. If I film them as evidence, so what? What are the consequences?

Something needs to change.

Can we start with mobility scooters. Had to go to minor injuries after being hit by one

“I don't have an issue with cyclists who do it safely, by the side…”

This is a common misconception. It is not safe(r) for cyclists to be pressed up against the side of the road. As well as potholes, manhole covers and other assorted hazards which make us likely to fall or wobble, it encourages drivers to overtake unsafely, passing far too close, squeezing by even when traffic is coming in the other direction.

Cycling two abreast is not illegal and can actually be safer for the cyclists, requiring overtaking cars to wait for a safe gap in the traffic.

That said, if cycling with a friend I always switch to single file if I head a car behind, though I won’t ever cycle in the gutter.

Because its not a tax for using the road, which is often what people think it means and what these arguments about cyclists boil down to. People think and feel that because someone is using the road to get out and about they should be paying tax to use it.

Thats not what 'road tax' if you want to call it that, is for. Other wise pedestrians would also be required surely?

As a driver I prefer if cyclists ride abreast as it makes overtaking quicker. I also ensure I over take as if I were overtaking a car, ie, only when there is enough space to get in the other lane on the other side of the road and enough vision ahead to perform it for my cars acceleration (slow)

A moments thought reveals that it is an unworkable idea. You want to tax/licence:
My elderly neighbour who very occasionally cycles 100m to the shop.
Teenagers larking about in a deserted carpark.
6 yos cycling with their dad to the park.
Students cycling to their lectures.
Me, cycling 400m regularly to a bridleway for my weekly exercise.
The list goes on. And then you want all these bikes to be fitted with number plates (I have 4!), to use police time to literally chase and catch those without plates, confiscate all those 000s of bikes without plates at the railway station.
utterly bonkers.

And no one ever kicks off about the other exemptions

Yeah great so let’s just do nothing then because some people might break the law/ terms of licence. Seems perfectly reasonable

To be fair, I think North Korea have a cycle registration system 😉

Yes sure but only after we have stopped vehicle drivers killing five people a day and seriously injuring 2000 people per day.

Once that is brought down to the level of danger bikes pose, we can start on cyclists

(Cyclists kill just under one person a year on average.)

Yeah great so let’s just do nothing.

Agreed. glad that's sorted then 👍

I drive an electric car and pay no road tax. Same as my bike.

Its a terrible idea. Cycling needs to be encouraged so we can reduce the dependency on cars. We have managed without red tape and restrictions for 100 years so why add them now. There are plenty of laws to prosecute dangerous cycling already - so just enforce them.

I don’t think you should need a license, no. I think it would make a better difference to have better cycling infrastructure.
I agree there should be more severe consequences for things like mounting the pavement and going through a red light and not following the rules in general.
We have a lot of teenagers on bikes around here who ride down the main roads in the same way that they used to drive around their cul de sac when they were maybe 7 or 8, doing wheelies and swerving from one side of the road to the other. Also with no lights after dark. For some reason rules of the road don’t apply to them, I find it quite irritating.
I used to live in Germany and if you’re a pedestrian and you go over the pedestrian crossing on a red light you can get fined. Everyone waits patiently for the green man even when there’s no car to be seen. Rules of the road should in my opinion apply to everyone.

Nothing OP suggests would solve the problems identified. Enforcement of current rules would.

When I see a cyclist I'm just glad they're not driving a smelly polluting huge great hunk of metal taking up road space, and keeping them selves fit at the same time. We need more bicycles on the road and that ain't gonna happen if you put licence plates on them

You need to look at the big picture instead of the one bad incident of one bad cyclist. It's a tad narrow in thinking

Of course it's a stupid idea and those who think it's sensible have absolutely no idea.

If they even thought about the logistics before typing out some snarky response, they'd realise how utterly moronic it would be.

Although I guess it would bring about a new genre of Police Chase reality TV shows. I'd love to see a high speed police cycle chase. You'd have some old lady on an ebike getting away whilst a policeman, with cameraman on the back is filming away. He'd call for backup and suddenly a team of bike popo swarm in with flashing lights and sirens.

And all because Maureen let her insurance lapse 🙄

If you hate cyclists so much, get on a bike and go for a bike ride. It's really nice and might cheer you up a bit

Nope they pay an emissions tax which is based upon they type of vehicle. I think electric cars don't have to pay it and older diesel cars get the highest rates. Newer petrol cars which can use the E10 fuel are in between.

Nothing to do with the roads.

Actually this isn't a bad suggestion. I'd add a cycling proficiency test to the driving test.

Many drivers haven't experienced how vulnerable you can feel as a cyclist on a busy road. They don't see a person, they just see an annoyance.

If you were forced to do some cycling on roads as part of your driving test, I think it would make people better drivers.

I've been a cyclist, pedestrian and a driver over the years. At the moment I just walk and get public transport most places (I don't currently own a bike or a car).

@bellac11 I wish all drivers were like you!

Even though I know cycling two abreast often makes more sense, I've ended up getting intimidated so often with cars honking and driving dangerously close behind, or overtaking so that we are forced to swerve, that I automatically revert to single file now.

Start with enforcing the road use by car drivers. A lifetime ban for any drink driver, regular medical tests for all, allow dash cam evidence to prosecute dangerous driving and middle lane hoggers. Have a separate driving test for larger cars and SUVs before you can own one. If you are guilty after a court appearance, no exceptions because your life might be more difficult if you are banned.

Then have greater regulation for cyclists if it remains to be needed.

YABVU

If you really wanted to improve safety, you'd ensure that everyone could access free cycle training, and make it compulsary for all car drivers to do a cyclist awareness course (which included the experience of riding a bike on-road) in order to hold a driving licence.
<nb: all-abilities cycling exists! there are plenty of ways this training could be delivered for those who cannot ride a bike themselves for whatever reason>

You'd also ensure that there was a network of properly designed, joined-up infrastructure for cyclists that could be safely used by anyone from ages 8-80 <the knowledge and expertise needed to do this exists - look at the Netherlands or even London for examples of good-quality, well-planned cycle routes - but the political will is lacking in most parts of the UK - building them costs much less than other kinds of roads, motorways etc>

It would also be helpful to change the law around liability so motorists who injured vulnerable road users faced stricter penalties here (as happens in other countries).

Yes, there is a lot of publicity whenever a cyclist's actions lead to the death of a pedestrian - as PPs have said, this only happens about once a year - and the cyclists responsible have done time in jail. However there are far too many deaths caused by the drivers of larger vehicles (usually 400-500 per year) when the driver doesn't even permanently lose their driving licence, never mind go to prison.

As most other people have said, vehicle tax is based on emissions, so cyclists wouldn't actually pay anything. The costs of admministering such a scheme make it prohibitive. Same as licensing the people who ride bikes. Every single study done by the Dept of Transport and others has suggested it's a bad idea, which is why, despite the occasional mindless witterings of Tory party politicians and other arrogant characters, it's not going to happen.

Another I hate cyclists thread ....

That's completely unreasonable though, you can't expect traffic to queue behind 3 cyclists because they refuse to move (and then they mount the path when they get stuck in said traffic)

It should be illegal.

I agree potholes etc but I don't think you should be able to ride in the middle of the road, you're asking to be caught up in an accident because people won't wait. I always personally do wait because I don't want to kill anyone but a it creates havock and people get angry.