As a driver of a car, van, truck and motorcycle, why is it that ... cyclists can go on public highways without Tax, Insurance, no MOT (roadworthy certificate) or licence/registration plate, and do not have a licence to certify they are suitably qualified to be on a public hoghway ? The arseholes should be enforced to hold all the above, as we do, and contribute to the costs of the highways as we motorists do. 90% of accidents, involving cyclists, are caused by themselves !! Jumping red lights, riding 2/3 abreast, in direct contrevention of the highway code (but when was the last time a cyclist was forced to read it before taking to the public roads ?) In fact ask a cyclist (and most motorists, on the public highways) " In what year was the Highway Code last updated " and just view the answers !!!! Not a bloody clue by 90% of them. Cyclists, and agreed, motorists who do not know the correct laws, nor indeed have the relevant documents to use the highways, SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM PUBLIC HIGHWAYS PERMANENTLY !!! Pieces of **** that should be in the sewers where they belong !!!

Chances of this site 'actually publishing...THE TRUTH' are zero !!!

PMSL. Anti arsehole abusive road user. They think they own the bloody thing, but never pay a penny, for it . W*****S

Awsome first post, bro. What kind of bycicles do you ride?

For the same reason that pedestrians, equestrians, etc. are allowed to use public roads without the restrictions you mention. The right of the public to freely travel on the 'King's Highways' dates back to the Magna Carta era and is considered part of our common law. The need for some restrictions became evident when some members of the public started using motorized vehicles capable of much more speed and power and where collisions primarily hurt those outside such vehicles. Therefore the use of such potentially dangerous vehicles is regarded legally as a privilege which can be licensed and possibly revoked rather than an inherent right of a free people to travel under their own power as pedestrians and cyclists.

The need for insurance came about due to the large amount of damage and injury created by the use of higher powered motorized vehicles. Probably most cyclists actually do have liability insurance but it's not required by law. My home owner's policy automatically includes liability coverage for any damage I might cause as a cyclist - the chances of this are so small that the carrier doesn't bother to ask whether or not I bicycle. AFAIK most renters policies also include liability coverage.

As for taxes there already are quite a few paid by cyclists. The local roads on which I mainly cycle get most of their funding from property and income taxes which cyclists pay to the same extent as motorists and I pay the same sales tax rate on my bikes as on my cars. The only roads I know whose construction and maintenance is primarily funded by gas taxes are interstate highways and I bicycle on these roads only rarely.

Oh, great. Not one of these threads.

First of all, the roads are owned by the people, and built for transportation from one place to another. Many of the roads were actually first laid out before cars were invented, and were not designated for any single mode of transportation.

Insurance:When was the last time the Highway code was last updated???Paying for roads?As a driver are you paying the true cost of the fuel?Please post statistics. Many accidents have contributory factors of both motorists and cyclists. Yes, the accidents caused by cyclists themselves is disturbingly high, but the papers I've read indicate somewhere around 50/50 contributory factors, with cyclists taking the brunt of the damages. Even those accidents where a cyclist did something stupid, a savvy driver should have been able to prevent the accident. SHARE THE ROAD.

Many types of accidents really are not caused by cyclists. Dooring, Rear-End, Right-Hook, Left-Hook, Pulling out in front, passing coming towards a cyclist, side-swipe, turning through a bike lane, excessive speed, drunk driving, etc. Of course it goes both ways, and a road savvy cyclist can also avoid many of the potential collisions.

Generally laws about riding side-by-side vs as far right as possible are ambiguous. Motorcyclists are generally legally allowed to ride side-by side, and cyclists are often legally allowed to take the lane, especially in cases where a car can't safely pass without exiting the lane. In cases that I've ridden side-by-side, it is always in low traffic areas, and the cyclists have moved over when traffic approaches due to common courtesy.

Cyclists are not above the laws, and if they are riding in an unsafe manner (no lights or reflectors at night, running red lights, etc), they can, and should be ticketed. But, also make sure infrastructure is appropriate. I have a lot of problems with tripping red light sensors... so one gets stuck on "dead reds". While having lights bunch up vehicles is common, I also feel it is safer to not have cars bunched around me, and have had a couple of close calls in part due to traffic pulses from lights.

There are also those instances that hardly impact bicycles, such as the "Top of the T" bike lane intersections. Stopping is irrelevant since traffic isn't supposed to cross bike lanes in these situations. In fact, running a red on the Top of the T is legal in some places.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop

Many cyclists here have ridden safely in traffic for decades. We still have to be exposed to the risk of some drunk driver smashing us with a weapon more lethal than a gun.

And don't forget litter. Throwing your beer bottle out (so you can't be charged with an open container) may not seem like much to a car driver, but think of it as a cyclist dumping road spikes or a bag of nails on the road just for the heck of it.

Yeah, what those two guys said...

Let's see, Drivers license - Check, I have one of those, Registration - Check, 3 vehicles registered, and licensed in my name, Insurance - check, both homeowners and auto, Fuel taxes - Check, pay them everytime I fill one of those 3 registered vehicles, not to mention the fuel I use on off road equipment like lawn mowers, snow blowers, chain saw etc. Wheel Tax Milwaukee county - check, paid the city and county wheel tax $50 on each of those 3 vehicles.
They reconstructed the road in front of my house this summer and yes, I got a "special assessment" bill for my portion.

Now what was it you were saying about causing danger to others?
https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news...y-on-the-roads

You know a nice 5 mile bicycle ride is just the thing to help relieve whatever tension and frustration you're feeling.

....Of course then we'll be reading your rant against drivers.

You come across as a jerk.

Me too. But, it's not likely to help because guys who rant with those misconceptions aren't often interested in learning the facts.

Got to remind myself to not ride on that tosser's hoghway.

Nothing good will come from this thread. Just like the other 500 of them.

Closed.