Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 12:15 pm  

The Sunday Times reports that this government is spending £80M to pay for more cycle lanes to protect cyclists from traffic and encourage more people to cycle.

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 12:18 pm  

Ajw71 wrote:

The Sunday Times reports that this government is spending £80M to pay for more cycle lanes to protect cyclists from traffic and encourage more people to cycle.

Good, they should treble it.

How much will climate change and obesity cost us?

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:38 pm  

Sheldon wrote:

Good, they should treble it.

How much will climate change and obesity cost us?

Trebling it? Why, because the number 3 has magical powers?

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:56 pm  

I'd include a section on cyclist etiquette in the written car test, i mean a bigger section than they already have.
I'd make cycle proficieny tests compulsory.
A one off bike registration fee that gets you a plate number that is yours for life, to be retro fitted to the bike to help prevent flaunting of the road rules, and something that helps the police identify riders.

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:57 pm  

Sheldon wrote:

... How much will climate change and obesity cost us?

For the latter, are they going to start actually tackling the manifold things that cause much obesity, then? Like sugar in diets – particularly hidden sugars? Like the over-dependence (still encouraged by some doctors) on starchy carbs? The two biggest consumers of breakfast cereals (sugared, salted cardboard, sometimes with extra sugar) are the US and UK – coincidence?

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 5:05 pm  

Horatio Yed wrote:

I'd include a section on cyclist etiquette in the written car test, i mean a bigger section than they already have.
I'd make cycle proficieny tests compulsory.
A one off bike registration fee that gets you a plate number that is yours for life, to be retro fitted to the bike to help prevent flaunting of the road rules, and something that helps the police identify riders.

Let me add.

The money made from the proficieny test & the one off fee for bike registration/rider identification could be ploughed back into bike schemes.

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 5:41 pm  

Horatio Yed wrote:

Let me add.

The money made from the proficieny test & the one off fee for bike registration/rider identification could be ploughed back into bike schemes.

Your bike registration number would end up longer than your phone number, including the dialing code - there are more bikes than cars in the country and there are more cyclists than drivers.

We don't need more bureaucracy, just a different approach.

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 7:12 pm  

cod'ead wrote:

I wonder how many of those cyclists have a canal permit? It doesn't cost anything but is still a legal requirement to cycle along a towpath

To fish the local canal I have to be a member of my local club who rent the water off BW or buy a day ticket which means I have to shell out £30 pa or £ 3 a session. On top of this I also have to fork out £30 pa for a rod licence. I don't object to paying out because this helps maintain the water quality / fish stocks / banks. While the club bailiffs do the rounds of all the club waters on a regular basis in 30+ yrs of angling I have never been asked fot my rod licence. Apparently only 6 EA bailiffs cover the entire NW.

While I am shelling out £60 pa it's so nice to know that cyclists need get a free permit to cycle along the canal. Do you think I have a cat in hells chance of getting the local old bill to enforce it?

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 7:55 pm  

dr_feelgood wrote:

While I am shelling out £60 pa it's so nice to know that cyclists need get a free permit to cycle along the canal. Do you think I have a cat in hells chance of getting the local old bill to enforce it?

LOL - you want the police to waste their time enforcing something that is free ?

There is an estimate from Sustrans that up to 21 million visits are made to canal towpaths each year by cyclists, can you put a fixed civil penalty on ignoring something that is free, or would the fine be free too ?

Re: Cyclists Cycling - do they annoy you ? : Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:10 pm  

I just think it might encourage people to behave a bit more responsibly and help lower the numbers of cyclists using the towpaths as their own private race course.

Maybe a few signs from BW informing cyclists that they need a permit wouldn't go amiss either.