Driver charged over three incidents of cyclists rammed in road rage attacks; Councillor demands mandatory helmets and 'road tax'; Movistar pro's wounds from Vuelta barbed wire crash; Sir Chris Hoy gets a cargo bike; Paralympic gold + more on the live blog

I don't think it's users falling off the treadmill, it's young children getting pulled underneath if they get caught on the belt as it goes over the rear roller.

He was making a topical joke. Maybe all the new sense of humours are sold out due to asian lockdowns...

joe9090 wrote:

He was making a topical joke. Maybe all the new sense of humours are sold out due to asian lockdowns...

In fairness it might be my sense of humour - I just can't get the spares anymore, it's held together with duct tape and zip ties...

I'm sure he's being paid to ride and promote it so he probably doesn't mind.

Owd Big 'Ead wrote:

Poor Chris Hoy.

Those Raleigh cargobikes are utterly crap, best avoided.

With thighs like his I doubt he even realises.

Not sure what you mean.

VED starts from £0 and goes up through 20/30/115/130 up to 2245 depending on emissions and date of registration.

I think that was bloodylazylayabout's point - they hope the councillor typed a '3' in front of '0' accidentally and weren't trying to mislead, because VED actually starts at £0.

Indeed

hirsute wrote:

Not sure what you mean.

VED starts from £0 and goes up through 20/30/115/130 up to 2245 depending on emissions and date of registration.

My favourite reply on twitter, was the person who calculated that it would cost about £150m to charge VED on bicycles at the same rate as cars (i.e. £0 in, £3.50 out (admin costs)).

bloodylazylayabout wrote:

'Road tax clearly the generic term for the £30 to over £200 paid by motorists each year depending on car'

I'm assuming that 3 is a typo & that a politician is not deliberately misusing actual figures

Probably. 3 and £ are on the same key, just pressed it again accidentally after lifting off shift.

Steve K wrote:

bloodylazylayabout wrote:

'Road tax clearly the generic term for the £30 to over £200 paid by motorists each year depending on car'

I'm assuming that 3 is a typo & that a politician is not deliberately misusing actual figures

Probably. 3 and £ are on the same key, just pressed it again accidentally after lifting off shift.

Must be, only logical explanation

I am wondering how much is actually funded from local funds as well as national. The VED is national, yet local councils would have some schemes funded locally, so that is via the Community Charge. As cyclists live in houses, then they are paying.

Also on the same reasoning (that's an oxymoron here), should horse riders also have mandated helmets?  

The poll tax stopped in 1992/93.

Local councils are funded by council tax, business rates, general grant (rsg), specific grants and numerous fees and charges.
Your county council, London borough, unitary, metropolitan maintains and provides the local infrastructure that cyclists use.

alexuk wrote:

Its beggars beleif that these 'officials' have absolutley no idea about how the roads are funded? how can this person be an active decision-maker in the council, and not understand the basic principles of how the roads are funded? Beyond a joke.

To be fair to the woman, she only has 22 years experience.

I guess she must be campaigning for "road tax" on electric cars too then? I must have missed it.

I know it doesn't exist yet, but surely as electric vehicles become more prevalent, it won't be far off. We might have to start quietly dropping that limb of the "road tax" argument.

Ultimately, it will be road pricing based on road type, time, capacity and something about axle weight to the fourth power for road wear.
Or just recognise that roads used by cyclists are provided by local councils for which we all pay council tax.

I would think going forward, in the short term,  there is a stong argument for getting rid of VED entirely and just collecting an emmisions tax through fuel duty. As you say, though, road pricing will come in ultimately.

IanMK wrote:

...As you say, though, road pricing will come in ultimately.

And at that point, I wonder how heavy the hammer will fall on cyclists?

I mean, we won't be able to say the VED is a fee on emissions (which is why we don't pay it on our bikes).  And the advanced motoring w*nkers will be all over the media saying how cyclists use the road, and "we" are being charged to use the roads so why aren't they?

Or will we get evicted from the national roads network...

Discuss

IanMK wrote:

I would think going forward, in the short term,  there is a stong argument for getting rid of VED entirely and just collecting an emmisions tax through fuel duty. As you say, though, road pricing will come in ultimately.

It would have to be the very short term, as hybrid and electric vehicles profilerate. Fuel Duty is currently a huge income stream for the Exchequer, and its loss will have to be compensated.

Road pricing is the rational alternative from many perspectives - it's just that it's politically toxic. Elements of it may be brought in by stealth, though. Everyone always wants bold political gestures - yet for important-but-controversial things, it's often more politically-savvy to be sneaky about it!

Duncann wrote:

IanMK wrote:

I would think going forward, in the short term,  there is a stong argument for getting rid of VED entirely and just collecting an emmisions tax through fuel duty. As you say, though, road pricing will come in ultimately.

It would have to be the very short term, as hybrid and electric vehicles profilerate. Fuel Duty is currently a huge income stream for the Exchequer, and its loss will have to be compensated.

Road pricing is the rational alternative from many perspectives - it's just that it's politically toxic. Elements of it may be brought in by stealth, though. Everyone always wants bold political gestures - yet for important-but-controversial things, it's often more politically-savvy to be sneaky about it!

A tax based on mileage seems appropriate, multiplied by some indicator of road wear like axle weight, number of axles, etc.

The mileage to be recorded at the annual MOT with the tax added to the bill (like VAT). The annual MOT would have to apply to all motor vehicles, even new ones. Those who prefer could pay monthly in advance by DD with any discrepancy settled at the MOT.

Obviously vehicles that do not legally require an odometer would be exempt, and axle weights below a minimum threshold would be zero rated in any case.

I think you could sell that one !

Get the garage to collect the tax on behalf of hmrc sounds a winner for the government.

Rural areas will be up in arms, so whether the tories will vote for it is another matter.

hirsute wrote:

Rural areas will be up in arms, so whether the tories will vote for it is another matter.

Road pricing usually has an anti-congestion aim as well, so different roads and times of day have different prices. That can help to reduce the cost to rural drivers who have fewer public transport options, but it's difficult to get right without introducing opportunities to game the system (such as a Londoner driving out just past the M25, using local roads to do more miles and then back in). Then add in the cost of the technology and the privacy issues...

I read somewhere that Sunak has a load of proposed policies (taxes) to reduce CO2 levels. The trouble for the Tories is that they are particularly toxic in the Red Wall constituencies, that are still waiting to be levelled up. I note Labour are pretty quiet on this as well.