A recent commenter on one of my old posts suggests that using a bicycle on the road should be subject to the same regulations as those governing car use, i.e.
- Compulsory vehicle testing
- A tax to use the road
- A license and associated test
- Compulsory insurance
- A registration number big enough to be read at a distance
My immediate reaction was as follows:
The vehicle test is supposed to ensure that motor vehicles aren’t damaging the environment and endangering other road users. It’s difficult to see how a poorly maintained bike would do either of these things, so I can’t agree that a vehicle test is necessary.
Motor vehicles attract Vehicle Excise Duty, which goes to the Treasury to be used for schools, bombs, hospitals and (as well as lots of other things) transport infrastructure. I think taxing people who use environmentally friendly alternative modes of transport would be unpopular for whichever government brought it in. I’m not against it personally, if a government is brave enough to bring it in. It would give the cyclist the right to demand better cycling facilities on the road (to the inevitable detriment of other road users I’m afraid).
A compulsory bike test + license is a great idea. Many of the cyclists who are killed by drivers each year are unknowingly putting themselves in danger by ignorant behaviour.
Mandatory insurance goes along with a visible registration number, otherwise it’s unenforceable. I’m don’t see the value of giving more money to the insurance industry - who would benefit apart from them? Maybe you think all those lorry drivers whose paintwork gets scratched by the cyclists they crush should be able to claim on the cyclists’ insurance?
A visible registration number is a good idea in theory. They took the front number plate off motorbikes a few years ago because it acted as a blade in a collision with a pedestrian. I’d be happy to have a registration plate so long as it didn’t endanger me or anybody else. It would have to be very cleverly designed to be visible from a distance while still allowing me to have a bike lock, rear child seat or front basket.
All road users should be accountable for their actions. At the moment the law says that everybody except pedestrians is accountable. I think the law should accept that pedestrians should be held responsible for the injury they cause to cyclists. If you think this is silly or wrong then please get a bike and try riding through a busy city every day.
There are a lot more issues that I haven’t got time to think through at the moment. The central point is that the law does hold cyclists accountable, we are expected to follow the rules of the road like any other vehicle. Yet motorists expect bicycles to occupy zero road space and get angry when we delay them for fractions of a second. Cyclists are playing for higher stakes than any other road user because the consequences of a minor accident are often fatal. Cyclists aren’t the villain of the piece yet they are criticised loudly and often by people who have never ridden a bike on the roads in their lives. We need better regulation for cyclists, not anti-cyclist regulation.