94 Million set aside for cycling

The fact of the matter, demonstrated by a recent survey, is that when asked the simple question 'what is the paper disc for' the vast majority of motorists called it 'road tax', a lesser number called it 'car tax' and very few said 'VED'.
Even the BBC have been incorrectly referring to it as 'road tax' in their reports until recently so perhaps it's no surprise to witness many motorists blinkered attitude towards other road users.

Anyway now this thread has run to 14 pages perhaps a few additional motorists are now more informed. :wink:
 
TitanTim said:
How quaint 'pushbikes' good job I don't own any, mine come equipped with stabilisers. :wink:
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Now that Tim has resorted to this level of mirth, I can safely say that the esteemed members of the Z4 Forum Cycling Club have won their case. :wink:
 
Just had a thought about all this "I pay tax, you don't" stuff....

What about the car drivers who dont pay tax?

I dont mean the ones who are excempt, I mean the pikey's who avoid paying it? Are they allowed to shout abuse at cyclists?
 
I don't think anybody won this argument.

Until we separate motor vehicles from bicycles these debates will rage with no conclusion.

So back to the original post - the £94m is money bloody well spent.
 
Of course we have, we have every right to be on the highway and motorists ought to accept it. The Law is on our side. End of.:wink:
 
Lillywhite said:
Of course we have, we have every right to be on the highway and motorists ought to accept it. The Law is on our side. End of.:wink:
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+1


Sent from some bloody gadget using Tapatalk
 
No you haven't (won the argument). Cars and bikes will always come into conflict if they aren't separated. 2 tonne vehicles that can travel at 70mph will always come into conflict with devices weighing a few kilos piloted by people with no protection and capable of less than 30mph in most conditions.

You shouldn't be on roads used by motor vehicles but nor should you prevented from having safe, protected cycle routes that run along side them either. That's why you aren't allowed on motorways. End of :thumbsup:
 
original guvnor said:
You shouldn't be on roads used by motor vehicles but nor should you prevented from having safe, protected cycle routes that run along side them either. That's why you aren't allowed on motorways. End of :thumbsup:
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That may be your opinion but the law is on our side. Until that changes, and it will be a brave government that changes the law then you are obliged to accept the situation.
Having said all that I will continue my rural traffic free rides avoiding A Roads like the plague. :wink:
 
Money permitting, it would make sense to have dedicated cycle lanes everywhere, along the current roads - cos from a safety point of view, a cyclist will probably always come off worse if in a collision with a vehicle (i.e. broken bones etc)....regardless of who was at fault.

However, we all know that isn't going to happen, so we have to share the highway. I think one of the main ways to making things better for everyone, is education.

For instance - I have in the past been cheesed off to be "delayed" by a cyclist until a safe overtaking opportunity arose. However - lets think about it. How much was I delayed? Probably nothing in reality, so not worth worrying about.

A previous post by someone mentioning being held up by horses etc struck a chord with me - we don't get so "emotional" about that, when in reality, its very similar.

Education is the way forward.
 
I agree that it is education that is needed and that's why I have been dogged on this thread fighting the cyclist corner. Now I very rarely come into contact with a set of traffic lights or ride on an A road and go out of my way to give respect to all other road users. What makes my blood boil is that when I or my law abiding cycling colleagues get tarred with the same brush with those idiots that cycle on pavements and jump red lights but as a minority group we seem to be an easy target for non-cycling motorists. I would not dream to blame a car driver for the sins of those motorists that consistently flout the law.
I hope that the £94 million is indeed spent wisely improving cycleways in built up areas but I feel that far more will be needed to bring them up to the standard required for safe cycling and give cyclists a reason not to cycle on A roads and other busy B roads.
 
Very interesting article on the Dutch's attitude to cycleways and that in the UK. The difference it would appear is one of culture going back well over 100 years so we have a lot of work to do.

http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/newscientist/
 
Yeah, that is true. I still think that the 94 million will be used on paint to draw lines on existing roads and declare them "cycle paths" with no additional value what so ever.

Quite nice when I am back in NL though to grab a bike and cycle to the city centre and not having to worry about parking a car.
 
Lillywhite said:
I agree that it is education that is needed and that's why I have been dogged on this thread fighting the cyclist corner. Now I very rarely come into contact with a set of traffic lights or ride on an A road and go out of my way to give respect to all other road users. What makes my blood boil is that when I or my law abiding cycling colleagues get tarred with the same brush with those idiots that cycle on pavements and jump red lights but as a minority group we seem to be an easy target for non-cycling motorists. I would not dream to blame a car driver for the sins of those motorists that consistently flout the law.
I hope that the £94 million is indeed spent wisely improving cycleways in built up areas but I feel that far more will be needed to bring them up to the standard required for safe cycling and give cyclists a reason not to cycle on A roads and other busy B roads.
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problem you have lillywhite is your a considerate cyclist from the sounds of it. from your posts you sound like you ride with some consideration, are visible with lights vests etc and i see many cyclists on a daily basis that are the same. where i drive mostly is in the city and i have to say people like that are a minority. maybe its just where i am but i would say well over 60% of people on bikes jump lights, cross onto pavements to through lights, don't wear hats, don't have any lights on at all, will ride/pull out in front of you with no notice, don't use the cycle lanes that are there the list is endless. On a daily basis i see so many near misses involving cars and bikes where it is the bikes fault for going through a red or not looking when moving out. its very easy for people to get a bad attitude towards cyclists when your confronted with morons who do give you a bad name all the time.
 
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