1. if road tax was abolished, why are we paying it to the tune of c.£250/annum.
That is VED (Vehicle Excise Duty), its a pollution tax, based on emissions. People on bikes don't need to pay this, just like band A cars, do you moan at them for not paying for the roads? And what about emergency service vehicles, tractors, electric cars, are they all getting away with not paying for the roads? No. Even pedestrians, people without cars pay for the roads, roads are paid for by all of us via general taxation.You can read
this BBC page for more information.
2. my post was not directed at cyclists in general, just those that clog up narrow roads; don't know what your lanes are like, but ours are mostly just wide enough for 2 cars to pass. we regularly see upwards of 60 cyclists at weekends, in a 200yard pack, taking up almost all the lane's width, wriggling their lycra clad arses at drivers stuck behind.
This I doubt, but even if its true, they have paid for the roads, they are entitled to use them. You just have to be patient and wait for a safe opportunity to pass, like any good driver, that I am sure you are. You have to try to see that the roads are there to be shared. Like I have said, people on bikes are happy to share the roads with careful drivers, why can't the same be said for some drivers? They aren't doing anything wrong.
I quote from the Highway code.... "cyclists, on narrow or busy roads, ride in single file."
Rule 66, states 'should', not 'must'. Where something is expressed as what you 'must' or 'must not' do in the Highway Code, this is a legal requirement imposed by legislation. 'Should' is advisory, so there is a big difference.
and these cyclists to whom i refer don't cycle to get anywhere, they just go out for the buzz.
You have no way of knowing this but let's say that you're right. Many people in cars and other vehicles go out purely for the enjoyment of travel, so what?
and please bear in mind that a lot of my comments are tongue in cheek. live and let live, i say.
Really? Which ones because you seem pretty anti-anybody-that's-in-my-way-on-a-bike, to me.
