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?

In terms of insurance, many if not most cyclists also drive and therefore have car insurance which may cover them for use of bikes as well. Ditto their home contents insurance.

And many of us are members of Cycling UK or British Cycling which also provides insurance.

But in any event, a cyclist is vanishingly unlikely to cause damage to a car and if they do it may be minor scratches which are easy enough to get fixed.

As for the Netherlands and Denmark being flat - yes they are - but e-bikes are a solution to hills.

Then you clearly haven't read the highway code and don't know what you're talking about.

It's FIVE feet over 30mph. So an Ego tripping cyclist, riding in the middle of the lane would mean that any motorist attempting to overtake in the other lane wouldn't be less than five feet away and risk losing their licence when the cyclist reported them.

You didn't answer my question. I asked why pedestrians and cyclists aren't allowed to use motorways.

You know the answer, but you can't say it because you know it would prove my point.

"The reason motorways are called such is because they are built specifically for motor vehicles and no other road users."

No. It really isn't.

I answered your question in the first line. Motorways, as indicated by their name, are built for motor vehicles only. They are designed to carry large loads of traffic and enable faster journeys. It is illegal for pedestrians and cyclists to use them. It would also be unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians to use them, because they are not designed for pedestrians and cyclists.

The same is not true of non-motorway roads.

The only time I get irritated with cyclists on the road (pretty rare as I also like to cycle!) is when they ride in a long straggling line you can’t overtake in any way. And this almost never happens, as most cyclists sensibly ride in a peloton formation or leave a passing distance between them if they’re in groups.
This!
It's one of mine and DH's pet hates too is when when we see poor cycling formation, but on the whole we don't see it as much as we experience ignorant drivers who think we should ride in the gutters so they can avoid taking their precious car on the other side of the road (presumably because they know being on the other side of the road at the time they want to pass would be unsafe for them, but they don't care that their reckless driving is unsafe for us).

I read comments on cycling threads on here and laugh to myself. Imagine being extremely frothy and angry at having to perform safe overtakes when driving a large chunk of metal at 30-60mph.

And the difference in topography between the Netherlands and the UK is?

thing is the wind... its just as hard work as geography

It doesn’t pay for the upkeep of the road. It’s an emissions tax, based on how much pollution your car is pumping out into the environment.

I notice Germany was conveniently ignored.

Motorways are fast roads built to faciltiate fast moving motorised vehical journeys between further away places. It is not safe therefore for non motorised traffic to use them.

You will also not, that unlike many other pre motor car roads, you also don't tend to get motorways running right through villages, residential suburbs and high streets or many other places that cyclists and pedestrians may want to use roads for short journeys.

If you can't understand the differenc between a motorway and smaller minor roads, perhaps you should retake your driving test.

I would wager that a lot of cyclists drive cars also. They’re also already paying for road upkeep through tax. The world would be a better place if more people cycled. Less pollution, fitter population.

@onefinemess In the immediate vicinity of very fast moving traffic - fixed it for you.

What would you have residents of small villages do where many many country lanes have no pavements at all. Are they only allowed to leave their houses by car?

Cycling is a great form of exercise, try it, it might improve your mood

It is only unsafe when there are multiple lanes with high volumes of traffic driving at high speeds.

It is perfectly safe on regular roads when drivers are driving correctly.

Well done, you have learned the difference between a small road in the country and a four-lane motorway.

It's unsafe for people to walk up and down railway lines too.

You think you have a point; you really, really fucking don't.

If it's dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists to use motorways, it's also dangerous for them to use other roads where vehicles are passing.

The only difference is people's Ego is kept in check when the car is doing 70mph.

Roads are dangerous, just because you can doesn't mean you should. People exercise basic common sense and risk assessment when doing other things, but as soon as you put them on a bicycle basic common sense goes out the window.

Bicycles and pedestrians should stay away from moving traffic. Otherwise you might find yourself lying on the side of the road with a broken spine, looking forward to a future as a wheelchair user. I'm sure the knowledge that it was your "right" to put yourself in such needless danger will give you comfort.

Probably wasn't safe to overtake then.

Roads are dangerous because of cars, not bikes. If you actually want to reduce injury rates on the roads, you ban anything with an engine.

HTH.

Roads are dangerous because of cars, not bikes. If you actually want to reduce injury rates on the roads, you ban anything with an engine.

logically, yes this would work to reduce death drastically. If you remove the bikes, horses and pedestrians there would still be 2000 deaths and 20,000 with life changing injuries every year from the drivers crashing

Silly post.

Cyclists should not be on pavements. No one said that cyclists should not be on roads; rather, the poster is saying that they should pay to use roads.