Even more cyclists now breaking the law

[DistingusedSocialCommentator]

Most drivers and pedestrians will be aware of this as many have seen or been victims of a cycle rider.

Watching Talktv this morning there was a lady who had lost her mother due to an e-scooter rider on the pavement. The show had a lawyer on talking about what I agree with, IE cyclists are very hard to identify if they get away from an accident.

E-scooters we all know are against the law unless provided for by your local council in central London. Several times over the years, me and the family have had close calls with them on pavements and parks as they zoom down, you cant hear them and they often dress in all black clothing.

Push bike riders are travelling faster and faster as many more have those battery packs on them

With the introduction of 20mph zones in vast areas of London, even more, push bike riders are now breaking the law, EG travelling well over 20mph in a 20mph and passing slower cars travelling at 20mph We are all aware how some push bike riders have ignored the rules for years, EG jump red lights, ignore pedestrians on crossings, cause accidents and walk of or rise off and now, much more able to break the speed limits off 20mph with almost 100% impunity and some that at red lights get o the pavement and cross a red light that way or some just ride on pavements

For the record, note, Its some cyclists not all but we have all seen them more so as going to work, or dropping off children at schools the speed of some of these riders

The Talktv debate also talked about those who kill people while riding a push bike/scooter, I think they said the maximum prison sentence was two years (I may be wrong) but the laws needed vast improvements.

This had been talked about a lot before but nothing happened.

AIBU proposes that all cyclists have number plates/easily identifiable markings, all have insurance, all have a bell and lights, and all wear a helmet and hi-vis jacket (This would in my judgment make many more riders more responsible for their actions and our roads/pavements safer for all)

The police need to be more proactive on e-scooter riders. However, as cyclists are almost impossible to identify, my proposal as above will aid the police and hopefully, modify the dangerous behaviours of those cyclists that are now regularly breaking the law, EG, travelling at more than the speed allowed, jumping red lights, putting pedestrians at risk on crossings and pavements.

I'll let you have the last word

Arent you going to bless us all with your astoundingly well thought out proposals anymore?

And if you think owning a massive Range Rover is the height of achievement and the key to happiness to be envied by all- my commiserations.

No one has suggested that cyclists should have a free pass. But the OP's posts are filled with examples that have nothing to do with bicycles or where there's no law being broken.

Perhaps a study should be conducted on the number of offences committed by different types of road user in comparison to the number of convictions. I doubt that there will be any real difference. After all, how many motorists get away with speeding every year? Probably a similar proportion to the number of cyclists who get away with running a red.

No one but no one has admitted here the real reason why many don't want an easily Identifiable number as mentioned above

Because that "real reason" is one that exists only in your own imagination.

I don't break the law. I don't support your batshit schemes. Period.

They will cause more problems than they solve.

Hmm, yes, if you look at the number of cyclists killed by motorists vs pedestrians killed by cyclists it’s clear that the problems here lie entirely with cyclists.

And there we go…

As I said in a previous post - it will take a major incident where a toddler is mowed down on the pavement or crossing before anything real happens as many politicians are only interested in their status and how much they can earn

Kids get mown down and killed/seriously injured by cars every day (here's an example from today, there were 512 in 2021). The politicians don't seem to want to do much about that - Rishi has vowed to ban anything which makes life safer for pedestrians (LTNs, 20mph zones etc.)
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/live-seriously-injured-boy-rushed-9118722

Why should the country spend an absolute fortune on a crazy idea that won't actually prevent any accidents? We need to be encouraging people to cycle, it's better for their health and it's safer than having them in cars. In the long term it's better for the planet too.

Number plates for bikes put another barrier in front of people moving from cars to bikes and they will be hard to fit and likely blocked by backpacks etc. Insurance is sensible, but the risk is low, and I don't think it's proportionate to make it compulsory.

The government should make it mandatory for cycle shops to register the bike serial numbers when they are sold so that in time all bikes are registered and when the police find a haul of stolen ones or see someone dodgy pushing one with an angle grinder in the other hand, they can check if it's been stolen.

We have a massive problem in this country that active travel is not encouraged at all, in fact, rather a lot of people seem to think that you deserve to be seriously injured or killed doing it. More people using bikes would solve so many problems in our towns and cities but it’s impossible because with the attitudes that people have it just isn’t safe. Yes some people on bikes are dicks, why wouldn’t they be? Some people doing anything are dicks but most of the time if a cyclist is where they shouldn’t be it’s to reduce the possibility of them being killed because our road system is not a safe place for them to be.

We have an epidemic of diseases related to being sedentary and global warming exceeding annual targets, why aren’t we encouraging people to use bikes for transport instead of demonising them? It’s just madness.

Why do the same cyclists that video and report to the police the drivers that break the law but not the cyclists?

I don't have a video camera, but if I did it would witness plenty of driving offences (close passes mainly, but if the things could measure speed most of the population could find themselves in court) - I almost never see cyclists running reds or failing to stop at zebra crossings. I'd have to visit London to see that sort of behaviour, and London's drivers aren't exactly reticent about going the wrong way down the road to save ten seconds, are they?

“At least try and hide the envy about people that have worked hard and spent/save prudently and able to reward themselves with the nicer things in life, lol, FGS.”

A large car. Yes, that’s what we all dream of 😂😂😂😂 If only we had saved more.

Pedestrian deaths by cyclists per year: 2.5 average
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/08/killer-cyclists-roads-bikes-pedestrian-collision-deaths-britain and https://www.cyclinguk.org/briefing/cycling-and-pedestrians

Deaths from dogs in 2023: 16.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_Kingdom

Let's put the licence plates on the dogs first...

Deaths from dogs in 2023: 16.

Ah, now you’re talking. The subject on MN that takes the gold medal for irrational defence of the indefensible.

"I don't have a video camera,"

Really!! No one asked you if you had one, Im referring to your bodies as per my previous post that go around reporting lawbreaking drivers - and my dear friend, I all for that if that is what they want to do. However, why do your mates not report fellow cyclists for BREAKING THE LAW, there are thousands of them daily jumping red lights, riding on pavements often at speed and shooting through crossings whilst pedestrians are trying to get across.????? Why are you so and your mates so anti idendifcations as per my post when riding a bike

...

Because they will never take responsibility for their own actions or practice what they preach to others.

Talking to pro-cyclists about cycling issues is like trying to have a discussion with cannabis users, they will always argue about alcohol and drinkers. Vegans will always blame meat eaters, etc. They cannot admit or accept issues with their own habits.

End of the day cyclists will never accept losing their anonymity, their like internet trolls, they want to target others from the comfort of their secret identities. 🙄

Like other posters have said, there is no where to place id on bikes and how could you light them up. Its not like bikes have lights anyway or LEDs, or even dynamos to charge them. Also registering them would be impossible its not like you have to register drones, vehicles, certain animals, etc. is it 😂

Every things is an excuse with a cyclist it seems.

I quite clearly stated what the camera would witness if I had one. The fact that you are too clouded by what psycologists call "motonormativity" to comprehend this is your issue.

I said that I seldom see cyclists breaking the law. I don't live in a city which probably helps (all road users in London are lunatics in my experience but not a patch on Parisians). I do however see many examples of dangerous or careless driving. This is reflected in the casualty statistics: 3 pedestrians killed by cyclists on average each year vs 507 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles. That's an average mind, in 2022 there wasn't a single pedestrian killed by a cyclist, while 385 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles.

So how much do you plan to charge the Exchequer for a scheme that would definitely have saved zero lives in 2022 and probably have saved zero lives in any other year too, given that number plates don't stop lawbreaking and accidents? Please compare your estimated spend to the government's Value of a Prevented Fatality figure to see if your proposal would pass a cost-benefit analysis.

While I've got the government spreadsheet open (I notice that you haven't bothered to do any actual research on this topic, just relying on the dubious content of one of Rupert Murdoch's outlets), would you like to know how many motor vehicle occupants are killed by cyclists on an average year? 2.4. How many motor vehicle occupants were killed by motor vehicles? 1,169.6. How many cyclists are killed by motor vehicles per year? 108.6.

So motor vehicles kill about as many people in a day as cyclists do in a year, yet you think cyclists are the problem?

If they ride on the pavements, they are annoying, but not particularly dangerous

We must walk on different pavements. I've been knocked down once by a cyclist, and had more close calls than I can count.

There are about one or two cases a year of cyclists seriously injuring pedestrians. These can be dealt with through normal legal channels (cyclist gets prosecuted or sued)

I'd rather not be knocked over at all than knocked over and see my assailant in prison.

You think that tiny little plate would do? It's only got three digits, there are 20 million bicycles in the UK.

"He just went through a red, did someone get his number?"
"No, how is anyone supposed to read that?

If you want to improve safety, you should concentrate on the things that are actually killing and maiming tens if not hundreds of thousands per year.

Registration plates won't solve that, they don't stop cars mounting the pavement.

That's true, I was just venting really.

What I would like to see would be the police stopping pavement cyclists.

Brilliant suggestion for the OP to lead the way.

What I would like to see would be the police.

So a side on tiny number plate is the answer? maybe you need to have a little think about that one

But lets say it was a "solution" you nor anyone else can say how much it would cost to run a live database for over 8m cyclists let alone 20m bicycles, nor how children would be registered..... the DVLA costs billions to run, only mitigated by billions collected in car VAT, licences, emission taxes and fuel duties

all you and others really want is to ban cyclists but dress it up as "safety concerns" BS.

Even the OPs title "Even more... break the law" has zero evidence to back it up.

Batshit crazy idea by an OP who also wants to remove the right to strike from all NHS workers as its the solution to that sectors problems...riiiiiight!

Unlikely, given home office advice is that people cycling on the pavements in a sensible fashion should not be fined.