Is it ime for change on cycling laws.?

camel herder · 01-16-2008, 03:55 AM

I would like to see the following happen as regards the laws on cycling:

1. Wearing of helmets should be made compulsory. I have experienced first hand how a helmet can save your life. If you are old enough to ride a bike, even a childs, you should wear a helmet.
2. Bicycles should be registered using a number stamped on the frame and logged with an authority like the DVLA. This would help aginst bicycle theft which appears to be on the increase and it would also be able to confirm a cylists name should he/she be stopped for running a red light. You know who you are and you are giving the rest of us law obiding cyclists a bad name.

McG · 01-16-2008, 03:55 AM

Camel Herder are you Big Brother?

To analogize: I wear my seat belt in my car each and every time I drive -- we don't need a law telling me to. My children came home from the hospital and rode in a approved car child seat every time they were in a moving vehicle until they were 48lbs.-- we don't need a law telling me to do so. I wear my cycling helmet each and every time I ride my bike -- we don't need a law telling us to do so.

WE DON'T NEED A NANNY STATE.

Back in the day .... in fact on my collector 1970 bike it still appears to this day ... we had bicycle registration and they had to display a license (with its own number) on the bike. It was a bureaucratic nightmare. Non-enforceable with children involved, and the premise of recovery through identification was a pipe dream. It was thought through and discontinued.

What you do doesn't give me a bad name. You run the light... you are at fault...not me.

WE DON'T NEED SAVED FROM OURSELVES.

By the way I am insured for liability while riding my bicycle. Are you? I am a careful rider who takes few chances and obeys the law. Are you?

nemesis114 · 01-16-2008, 03:56 AM

Safety is important yes - but safety of oneself should be down to oneself, not legislated by the nanny state.

The only thing I would like to see is cyclists having to have some form of road insurance - I don't see why it should be the responsibility of every other road user to finance anyone elses bad luck, stupidity or lack of training and subsequent mishaps whilst operating their chosen form of transport.

And yes, I do cycle and I do drive a car and own a motorcycle too - and I'm as careful as I can be.

strapping_b · 01-16-2008, 03:56 AM

1. That's our lookout. Unlike the current government in the UK, I believe people have a right to be stupid. You're right, helmets can save your life, but it's my choice if I want to be stupid and risk my life. We don't like being told what to do!

2. And are you also proposing that there's a registration fee to pay for this, as with driving? One of the many reasons that cycling is so great is that it's appealing to people on low incomes who can't afford cars. If it's possible to buy a bike for £20 off a mate, and this fee would probably be at least that, then it's going to put a lot of people off cycling. Sorry mate, bike theft is a problem - I've had three nicked - but your solution's not worth it.

Insurance... there may be a case for that, but it would have to be minimal as a) we don't want to put people off cycling, and b) I'd be interested in how many accidents are actually caused by cyclists. I can't imagine them doing a lot of damage.

Mind you, if cyclists have to have insurance, then so should pedestrians. I bet they cause as many accidents as cyclists.

Stop worrying about other people's misdeeds. Ok, so a few cyclists can't follow the rules of the road, but If somebody's small-minded enough to tar all cyclists with the same brush then you should be strong-minded enough not to pay attention to them. You know you've done nothing wrong.

ps: to those people who say we should pay road tax: how many miles does a car do? Tens of thousands. How many miles does a bike do? Hundreds at best. How much of the width of the road does a bike take compared to a car? How much does a bike weigh? A few kilograms. How much does a car weigh? About a ton. How much more damage does a ton weight do to a road compared to a few kilos?

Do you want the country to keel over and die of heart attack through lack of exercise?

SAM O.B.E. · 01-16-2008, 03:56 AM

And pay road tax for using the road plus insurance for the accident they are involved in