Grant Shapp, bicycle number plates, insurance and tax

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Bicycle number plates, insurance and tax.

Yes some people break the law on bikes. The vast majority of cyclists are law abiding honest poeple.

As for fitting number plates to bicycles We do not have the police to handle this. The real problem in the uk is the millions of drivers without VED, mot and insurance which the police are unable to do anything about.

Ive heard say that forces have refused to deal with traffic offences because they are over run with mobile phone offences.

But an idiot will be an idiot not matter which vehicle they use. And often the idiot you see on a bike is the idiot that was banned from driving.

What we need is more police on the streets like we used to have. When was the last time you saw on bobby on the beat - 20yrs ago?

The police are insulated from the public in there cars, and often they also commit traffic violations like speeding or using their mobile behind to wheel.
Often the police are sent out to enforce laws they know nothing about.

Getting back on track
Many countries have tried and failed to mandate number plates on bike cycles. North Korea is the only such country.
Some countries have tried twice to mandate number plate and have still failed. So of course it wont work here either.

Are you really going to put a number plate on every single bike. Including kiddies tricycles.

As ive said before a number plate only identifies the registered keeper as seen by MP’s who have been caught speeding but allow their wives to take the fine and points.

Given the vast number of bicycle thefts every day it’d be to easy to say “i didnt know my bike had been stolen” it would be very hard to prove it wasnt stolen. 53% of insurance claims are due to thrifts,
Conversely a car is far more difficult to steal.

But a stolen 2000kg car travelling at 45kph will do far more damage than a 10kg bike doing 20Kph. I’m gonna use these numbers as an example just to get the point across. But one equation i remember from school is mass x velocity = momentum. The car may have 90,000 units of energy, while the bike has 200 units of energy on impact. As you’ve heard there is a vast difference in momentum. It’s same as dropping either a feather or a hammer on your foot.

Also every bike has a frame number stamped on it already which could be used to id the original owner.

As an honest human being i have liability insurance and Ive even got my bike registered with DATATAG and i have an additional tracking device fitted. So if my bike is stolen the police can readily identify it from the datatag code engraved into various parts of the frame, or the micro dots on the components. and my tracking device will help me locate it.

The thing with a bike is it is often the last resource it terms of cheap private transport, for young or health buffs or those fallen on hard times or simply as a life style choice. Or those who’ve lost their driving licence because they’ve fallen below the standard expected to hold a driving licence.

Often a bike is the fastest thing on the roads across town therefore another reason to ride.

Fitting a number plate isnt really going to stop the bad riders. If you collide with a cyclist the honest ones will stop. The bad ones will leg it. Same as they do in a car.
If we had bobbies on the beat in hot spot area’s then a few of these bad cyclists could be caught and fined.

To combat bad cycling i suggest bring back cycling proficiency test at schools. It may even be the first time kids actually hear about the Highway Code.

Insurance is readily available as part of you home contents insurance which will cover you while cycling too.

As for ved aka road tax which is actually a pollution tax and it is not a tax to allow you to use your car on the roads.
If you want to tax my bike, which one are you going to tax? I can cant use both?
If you do insist on taxing my bike. Then I’ll be looking for a tax refund for leaving my car at home.
I’d be demanding tax be paid for your electric car too. As electric cars aren’t green as they are made out to be plus they still damage the roads far more than a bicycle ever will.
I’d demand your mobility scooter, your wheelchair. I’d demand pedestrians be taxed for using the streets too, - oh yeah we are ready taxed to use the streets. As the roads are already funded from general taxation.