Cyclists who act like they own the road should pay towards it

[dreamingofsun]

So cyclists get priority on the roads, and are happy to ride two abreast so they hold all the car traffic up. Shouldnt they at least pay towards the upkeep of the road?

People can and do use cargo bikes. And there are cycle taxis in London.

And if you were eg a plumber, you might use a van to get round your calls, but if you needed to get smallish parts, you might use a bike to do that as it might work out faster than taking the van, getting stuck in traffic and having to find somewhere to park (and potentially pay for parking). You could potentially keep a bike in your van, depending on the size of both.

There are loads of ways to reduce car/van travel if you look for them.

And far more freight should go by train.

Restrict permits to commercial vehicles only.

Car-free towns exist, they manage to function just fine. Much better living environment.

Ha ha ha.

Does that mean that cars will stay off pavements and cycle paths?

And that pedestrians will stay off cycle paths?

Roads are for everyone. Other than motorways.

Dresden even has freight trams to keep lorries off of its streets.

Oh but it does. Especially if an expensive SUV (or an Audi). Nobody else should be on the road (including people in cheaper cars) because they have an expensive car and how dare anyone get in their way?

I'm going there next month, I will look out for them!

It served the VW factory. I've just double-checked and Wikipedia says that it was stopped in December 2020. The reason?

A van went through a red light and collided with a tram.

Yep, motor vehicles are a menace.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CarGoTram

@BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah

A cyclist nearly hit my then 3 year old daughter going about 20-30mph straight over a zebra crossing. If I hadn't anticipated him being a bellend and yanked her out the way, he would have killed or seriously injured her.

No doubt you'll be chastised by some posters on here (as I was when I mentioned the incident where my DH was nearly taken out last week on a green light pedestrian crossing by a male cyclist zooming through a red light in a major city centre) that it was not a problem as no collision occurred so basically it's OK for a cyclist to do that, that as these incidences are "few and far between" they are not a problem, that a pedestrian is unlikely to be injured by a cyclist hitting them at speed and that I should be more concerned about people using dog leads and mobile phones than cyclists who deliberately run red lights 🤪. Basically, every excuse under the sun to excuse a cyclist who cannot wait a few seconds being stuck at a red light and would rather endanger himself, pedestrians and other road users than wait and follow the rules of the road he chooses to cycle on. Of course, it's only motorists who are impatient and endanger lives ....never cyclists....nooooo!

That cyclist was a knob.

But at least he wasn't in charge of a car.

I cycled to my Covid vaccination.

The nurse saw my helmet and was horrified.
Nurse: “What if you don’t feel well on the journey home”
Me: “If I don’t feel well it’s probably best I’m not behind the wheel of 2 tons of metal”

I had the same!

@DatumTarum

That cyclist was a knob.

But at least he wasn't in charge of a car.

You'll have no argument from me on either of those statements. As a motorist (mostly a pedestrian and, very occasionally, a cyclist) I can agree that some motorists are complete and utter morons and I don't feel the need to defend them! We aren't all idiots though!

Yes cyclists occasionally jump red lights.
I have done it myself, at a junction near my house. I know the junction well and in that situation it’s fine, and safer for all concerned.

The fact remains:
From 2012-20, one of the 32 pedestrians who were killed by someone who jumped a red light was hit by a cycle.
Seventeen out the 385 serious pedestrian casualties hit by someone jumping a red light were hit by a cycle rider (4%). The rest were hit by other vehicles.

Yes, cyclists do it, but cars to a much greater extent and with a larger impact.
Yet all people go on about is the cyclists jumping red lights

Quite.

Zebra crossings are dangerous generally, people do not want to stop at them, so you do have to make eye contact and give them a hard stare to get them to stop.

Yes, cyclists do it, but cars to a much greater extent and with a larger impact.
Yet all people go on about is the cyclists jumping red lights

I have never experienced a car nearly knocking me over on a green light pedestrian crossing but I have with a cyclist. Regardless of who does it or the severity of the impact or injury, it shouldn't happen. I am sure that if I had been hit at speed by the moron on the cycle jumping a red light, and injured, I wouldn't be thinking, "Phew, lucky me. Thank goodness that wasn't a car!"
I am not so naive as to think motorists don't do it though.
But the fact that one does it, doesn't excuse the other! No one should be jumping red lights! They are there for a reason.

In urban environments bikes absolutely are faster than cars.

It takes me over an hour to drive to work across a busy city.

It takes 20 minutes on a bike.

Who is holding up who, exactly?

And BTW, you breathe in way more pollution sitting inside your car than I do outside it. Plus, I'm getting some exercise and having fun.

Face it, you wish you could get to work faster and more enjoyably, don't you?

Unless you live in London or one of a small number of other large cities with good public transport, cars are often the only viable way to get to work, appointments, go shopping, etc.

I really don't think people realise how bad public transport is outside of a handful of major cities.

Before I started my own business within walking distance of home, it was simply impossible to get to work before 9am by bus nor train. It was only 20 miles away from my town to the next town, but the earliest bus/train wouldn't have got me there before around 9.30. So no use for workers, school children, college students, etc. That was mostly because it was across a county border, and the county councils were incapable of working together!

@Kazzyhoward

Most people live in urban areas. Most car trips are under five miles.

Because it would be much slower.

If you want to cycle there are plenty of off road courses and cycle tracks for you to play your hobby. You don't need to use a public road as a playground.

People don't play football in the middle of the road, or use it to play their other hobbies. Why do cyclists think it's fine to use a public road to play their hobby?

What about the extra admissions from vehicles which are stuck behind cyclists?

ARE, not "were".

Modern roads are NOT built for horses.

A umber is going to use a bicycle to attend a call!

😂

Tell me about one car free town in the UK that functions just fine.

10 MILLION people live in rural areas in the UK! That's about a sixth of the population. Pretty significant really!

And millions more live in towns and smaller cities without the public transport infrastructure of London and a handful of other big cities!

Only 13 million live in the ten biggest cities in the UK!