InigoMontoya Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I drive a car but i also have a motorcycle that i get to use maybe once a month when i take it out on a Sunday into the peak district. I still pay my £17 road tax as its the law obviously, but i dont mind paying the £17. I actually think the fee is quite low. If cyclist want to roads that require traffic lights, box junctions, cycle lanes, bus lanes, zebra crossings, speed cameras etc etc.....why shouldnt they contribute a small fee? Fine. And then we remember it's a "zero-emission vehicle" and would be exempt from VED. So. Not worth collecting it. QED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hicksy3 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I think this thread has conclusively answered its own questions as to why people dont think that cyclists have the same rights to use the roads as people who pay road tax and have animosity towards them. I suggested a £7 per year fee (2p per day) would give cyclists an equal voice on transport in the eyes of drivers but would also contribute towards the bigger picture. Congratulations! I think that gets silly idea of the month award. According to the widely acknowledged fourth power law, a cycle that is 1/10 the weight of a car will do 10*10*10*10 times less damage to the road than a car. Let's discouarage cycling and drive instead (that obviously makes you a much better person). I will start driving to work to avoid paying your £7 tax, and make loads more potholes! I don't make potholes when I'm on a bike, I save the council money by cycling. No way I'd pay tax to save the council money. Posted from Sheffieldforum.co.uk App for Android Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bloke Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 How does a certificate of competance increase the danger? ... is it because those that failed would revert to driving a car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutch Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Would you buy a bike permit/tax if the money went to a Sheffield City Council road fund after devolution? Rather give money to a beggar who really needs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achorste Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 According to the widely acknowledged fourth power law, a cycle that is 1/10 the weight of a car will do 10*10*10*10 times less damage to the road than a car. [/size] So proportionally the Vehicle Excise Duty for a bike in comparison to a car paying £150 a year would be in the region of 1.5 pence... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squiggs Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 (edited) I drive a car but i also have a motorcycle that i get to use maybe once a month when i take it out on a Sunday into the peak district. I still pay my £17 road tax as its the law obviously, but i dont mind paying the £17. I actually think the fee is quite low. If cyclist want to roads that require traffic lights, box junctions, cycle lanes, bus lanes, zebra crossings, speed cameras etc etc.....why shouldnt they contribute a small fee? Missing the point completely. You have as much right as any regular cyclist to ride a bicycle on the roads without additional taxation The point that you CHOOSE to use two taxable modes of transport is a matter for you entirely. And has no impact on your right to use a bicycle on the public highway without additional fees. A regular cyclist also has to pay VED to keep and use a motor vehicle on the road, even if they only use it occasionally. So neither party is treated any differently. The exception, rightly, is VED exemptions for the disabled, who should not be forced to pay for mobility, because the CHOICE to walk or cycle isn't applicable to them Edited June 2, 2015 by Squiggs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseOwl182 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 So by this logic drivers of low emissions cars don't have the same rights on the road as other cars? Sorry but your logic is completely flawed. In any case, in 2011-2012, Vehicle Excise Duty brought in £5.9bn from around £592bn of taxation. Less than one percent of the governments income, which is divided across all expenditure, including £18bn on Transport (Sources from IFS & HM Treasury expenditure analysis). But despite this tiny fraction you conveniently forget that a majority of cyclists are drivers also and have paid Vehicle Excise Duty on their cars also. So please tell me again, why would cyclists have any less right to use the roads than other road users? No, I never mentioned anything about a link between VED and rights to use the roads, I was merely dispelling the myth that VED does not contribute to road funding, just because it isn't a direct, ringfenced contribution. I have no problem with cyclists, just the significant minority of them who think they can use the roads without obeying the rules that go with them (especially red lights). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 How does a certificate of competance increase the danger? Also do you view that the need to have a driving licence is therefore a barrier to driving and that you should be able to drive a car without a licence? Jeez, we need to explain this again? Well established that the more cyclists there are on the road, the safer all cyclists are. (Postulated that this is because motorists become more used to them). Raise barriers to cycling (compulsory helmets, bike MOTs, competence testing) and you get less cyclists. Less cyclists = greater danger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eater Sundae Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Im just contributing to the "Why is there so much animosity towards cyclists in Sheffield?" thread. Cyclists use the roads so should pay for the privilege to use them like everyone else. Thats my opinion. But not everybody else does (other than through general taxation)... Pedestrians, for one. Should they have to pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I drive a car but i also have a motorcycle that i get to use maybe once a month when i take it out on a Sunday into the peak district. I still pay my £17 road tax as its the law obviously, but i dont mind paying the £17. I actually think the fee is quite low. If cyclist want to roads that require traffic lights, box junctions, cycle lanes, bus lanes, zebra crossings, speed cameras etc etc.....why shouldnt they contribute a small fee? You don't pay road tax, it doesn't exist. You pay vehicle excise duty. Which is zero rated for non-polluting vehicles, like Prius's and cycles. Roads are paid for from general taxation, we all pay that. Your £17 fee is based on the amount of pollution your motorbike creates. ---------- Post added 02-06-2015 at 13:24 ---------- I think this thread has conclusively answered its own questions as to why people dont think that cyclists have the same rights to use the roads as people who pay road tax and have animosity towards them. I think we could replace "people" in that sentence with something less complimentary. Or it could be subtly questioned during the driving test and anyone who thinks that driving a car gives them more rights to the road should then be denied a license forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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