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?

@DatumTarum ok so now you're mocking disabled people- how charming.
Weird how some people get their kicks!

I genuinely have no idea what you are talking about.

1: I know two people who are disabled due to car crashes.

2: I don't drive due to a disability.

Roads and the selfishness of those using them is the clearest example of a 'Tragedy of the commons
Currently, the government is using a softly soft approach, encouraging cycling, 15 min cities, Ulez.
Next is road pricing this will be based on a peak off peak basis. Then we'll see a real change in motoring behaviour. Tax enforced.

A further erosion of civil liberties.

Being allowed to take a car onto the road isn't a fundamental right. The govt can already control who can and can't do this. It's no more an erosion of civil liberties than having to pass a driving test or have insurance or an MOT.

Liberties come with responsibilities

To live together we have a responsibility not to harm others

And driving a car comes with huge implications for the direct health of others and the impact on the NHS as a result of their poor health and your ( on average ) weight problems

@Flickersy obviously it makes sense to ensure that those driving won't be a danger to themselves or others but once that threshold has been met, who gets to decide who can use a car & who can't?
Potential use cases = commercial vehicles, taxis, buses, emergency response vehicles, those volunteering for charitable purposes (eg to drive those otherwise unable to get to hospital) etc - who is making the judgement call?

The government. Like it already does in every single other way when it comes to who is permitted to take a car onto the road and when.

A democratically elected government.

You have a revocable licence (ie permission) to drive.

It is not a right.

Driving a car is a danger to others

It causes lots of asthma and lung related and dementia deaths

@DatumTarum because our current democratically elected government is so trust worthy... they would give licenses to all their mates!

Q2c4, motors on uk roads have doubled to 41 million in 30 years, if any civil liberties are being eroded, its not car drivers

I am all in favor of reducing emissions overall but that doesn't have to be at the expense of the ability to travel long distances at will. Cleaner technologies exist & if the government really wanted to reduce emissions they would subsidize this form of transport.

I have several asthmatic friends. Their asthma is triggered by cats, dogs, pollen & bonfires. I look forward to the proposals to ban cats, dogs, trees & log burners!
Cycling can also be dangerous to others. I've seen some hideous crashes. Perhaps we should ban that too. Certainly cyclists should have something like number plates so those jumping red lights etc (v common problem round here) can be identified and fined.

Cyclists don't kill people at the same astonishing rate drivers do

One can 'travel long distances at will' without a certain, trains go a long way

@Q2C4

Pedestrians (as in human beings walking about) kill and injure far, far more people than bikes. That's basically most of the people in the country who are murdered.

Should we all have licence numbers on the back of our coats?

Bees kill more people than bikes.

Bikes are not dangerous, the naked jealousy and rage of car drivers is though.

@DatumTarum cars are not dangerous. Bad drivers are.

Guns don't kill people...

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/the-car-free-spanish-city
This city has had zero traffic deaths since 2009, since banning cars, maybe cars are a little dangerous

@DatumTarum I'm just using your logic. If that's where it leads you...
I don't know why you are so fundamentally opposed to vehicular transport. Do you really never get on a bus, or buy anything which has been delivered by road? How do you feel about trains?

Transportation is a necessity, but walking or cycling should be used for shorter distances. The detrimental effects of traffic congestion on businesses and public health are significant. The government must take immediate action to address this pressing issue.
Nipping out without any thought will be costly.

V interesting. Though it seems that provisions are there to enable people to drive to the outskirts then leave their cars behind:
"Cars were no longer allowed to cross the city, on-street car parking was removed and in its stead, free-to-use underground car parks were built on the outskirts."

@Ohmygiddyauntie so the government would assess, case by case, which vehicular journeys are allowed & which ones are not?
I suspect that is unworkable - how would any system know the true intent of the journey? Even if it were possible it would be open to abuse.

1. Main sources of emissions of air pollutants in 2021

Emissions of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5))_ originate from a wide range of sources covering domestic activity, industrial activity, power generation, transport and agriculture. Emissions of particulate matter arising from the domestic combustion of wood as a fuel increased by 124 per cent between 2011 and 2021, and accounted for 21 per cent of primary emissions of PM2.5 and 12 per cent of PM10 in 2021. The burning of fuel used on industrial sites, either to generate energy, or to drive mobile machinery, is one of the main sources of particulate matter emissions (26 per cent of PM2.5 and 16 per cent of PM10 in 2021). An increasing proportion of emissions from the fuel burnt on industrial sites is from the burning of biomass, rising from 2 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2010 to 15 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2021. Road transport activity is a prominent source of emissions of nitrogen oxideses_ and to a lesser extent particulate matter.* Road transport accounted for 28 per cent of emissions of nitrogen oxides in 2021, with a further 14 per cent attributable to other forms of transport (aviation, rail, and shipping). Exhaust emissions from road transport sources are decreasing (non-exhaust emissions of particulate matter also comes from road wear and brake and tyre wear, representing 10 % of total PM2.5 emissions in 2021).

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants/emissions-of-air-pollutants-in-the-uk-summary#main-sources-of-emissions-of-air-pollutants-in-2021