I'm a cyclist.

[woodieallen]

Triple the price of fuel, that would make people reflect on
the necessity of their journey.
Bit tough on those that need their vehicle for work though,
I suppose.
And, no, I don't even possess a bicycle, let alone ride one.

Better not go to the hospital anymore then as it's a 100 mile round trip. Or to the shops....another round trip of 60 miles.

 

[woodieallen]

.... Any money that 80% or more of vehicles on almost any road will be private cars, the vast majority of which have but one occupant

How else do you think they will get to work ? Oh, silly me....get the bus. What bus ?

 

[artie]

True especially if thy are halfway crossing the road. But where at least one of these new rules is just plain daft is expecting motorists to stop turning into a sidestreet if there is a pedestrian waiting on the corner to cross.

You have to be a mind reader as well. Are they waiting to cross or just having a look round?

 

[JobandKnock]

How else do you think they will get to work ? Oh, silly me....get the bus. What bus ?

Yes, silly you! Ever heard of living within accessible distance of where you work? Ever looked at the numbers of buses/trams/trains in cities? There is very little real need for anyone to drive a car within cities. The fact that people do is often because they are lazy, or put their needs before those of the society they live in. FFS I am a tradesman, with a shed load of tools to cart around, not just a laptop and a pen, so if I can do it (i.e the majority of my travel to and from work by public transport) then so can a lot of people. Or is it just that you'd rather sit warming your derriere in a nice warm car whilst the pollution your car produces chokes the planet?

If more people stopped being lazy and driving and used public transport, and asked for better public transport, there would be more buses. Supply tends to follow demand.

 

[Spectric]

Not a good idea!!! would just attract Pandas.

Good point, bambo can be a highly invasive species, I had some in the gardening shed that looked dead but once it got wet it just grew so what happens if your bambo bike gets left in the rain, you come back to a bush!

 

[John Brown]

Good point, bambo can be a highly invasive species, I had some in the gardening shed that looked dead but once it got wet it just grew so what happens if your bambo bike gets left in the rain, you come back to a bush!

You're not supposed to leave them out in the rain. That was the main reason I decided not to build one some years back.
When I say "build", it was a mentored workshop type thing. I'd hate to think what I'd end up with left to my own devices.

 

[deema]

Yes, silly you! Ever heard of living within accessible distance of where you work? Ever looked at the numbers of buses/trams/trains in cities? There is very little real need for anyone to drive a car within cities. The fact that people do is often because they are lazy, or put their needs before those of the society they live in. FFS I am a tradesman, with a shed load of tools to cart around, not just a laptop and a pen, so if I can do it (i.e the majority of my travel to and from work by public transport) then so can a lot of people. Or is it just that you'd rather sit warming your derriere in a nice warm car whilst the pollution your car produces chokes the planet?

If more people stopped being lazy and driving and used public transport, and asked for better public transport, there would be more buses. Supply tends to follow demand.

I’m really intrigued, so I have to ask
From the posts I’ve read it would appear that your work is mainly on building sites where materials can be delivered in bulk direct to site. For the trades that service the private sector, maintains private properties Im not sure transporting say a sheet of 8x4 material on a bus is going to be very practical? That’s not including the track saw, dust extractor, drills etc etc at the same time? Do you have a solution that you’ve found practical?

 

[GLS]

The moment the masses give up their right to individual transport you will see more and more restrictive emplyment conditions creeping in. look at the old Victorian city slums, where the occupants could only live within walking distance and the working conditions they enjoyed. Personal freedom to travel to distant towns to work improved working conditions broke that cycle, surrender it at your peril.

 

[deema]

The proposed solution of everyone moving to urban areas to reduce private car usage sounds initially like a well thought through idea. However, it lacks consideration of the effect that depopulation of the countryside has. There are lots of really well researched and published articles if anyone is truly interested. By way of example, food production is at the moment reliant on people, from planting and harvesting to picking and sorting. The jobs are relatively low paid and people, taking on board another proposal, need to be close to their place of work. Farmers and their workers need an infrastructure of support both to live in the countryside as well as to make it a viable option for people to wish to remain in the countryside. Buses, trains servicing rural communities are not economic or viable, the levels of service that a city can support is simply not practical, unless buses carrying one or no passengers is seen as acceptable. The only viable solution is private vehicles. Increasing car taxation attacks the very people who allow the people who live in cities to eat. It is a higher cost to live in the countryside which is a well supported and researched fact, therefore any additional costs pushes more food production off shore. The carbon cost of transporting food around the world, unsustainable farming practices or poor animal husbandry (do we really want food contains cocktails of chemicals?) needs to be considered in the balance.
So the push for taking cars off the road although having many merits also needs to be balanced against the greater harm it would do to the environment.
I am not a farmer, and never have been. However I do appreciate that they maintain the countryside we all enjoy and love, as well as providing the bread that we eat.

 

[deema]

I’m waiting for the next protest group to realise that by selecting key junctions in any major city, of which there aren’t that many, that a group of say 10 people at each junction can legally just keep crossing the road and bring the city to a total grid locked stop.
The police will be powerless, they will be acting fully lawfully and attract huge media attention.
This is where I fear the good intentions of the committee that proposed the new road rules failed to consider the wider implications.

 

[paulrbarnard]

How about vehicle weight too? Heavier electric, battery laden vehicles must be having an impact on road surface conditions.

That might be a disincentive to the over weight taking up cycling to get fit

So what would you propose ? A massive hike in the cost of running a private vehicle ? Great if you live in a city or if you can walk to work. But for the rural population ?

you could cycle and reap the benifits of the massive rights taken away from drivers and bestowed on cyclists. Yep I’m a rural cyclist.

 

[deema]

On another recent thread on here I’ve highlighted and linked the published latest research that highlights that the argument that cycles are inherently safer than other vehicles simply isn’t the case. You are only 40% more likely as an example of being killed or seriously injured (KSI) by a light goods vehicle than by a cyclist. Your only 60% more likely to be KSI by a car than a cyclist. The KSI rate caused by cyclists is increasing and for cars and LCV’s it’s consistently reducing year on year.
The number of KSI incidents would be nearly halved if men aged between 30 and 60 would leave their bikes at home. It highlights that there is a problem with the attitudes or riding rabbits if this group of people. Women are significantly safer on bikes than men. However, I don’t see any moves to reduce KSI caused by cyclists.

 

[paulrbarnard]

I’m really intrigued, so I have to ask
From the posts I’ve read it would appear that your work is mainly on building sites where materials can be delivered in bulk direct to site. For the trades that service the private sector, maintains private properties Im not sure transporting say a sheet of 8x4 material on a bus is going to be very practical? That’s not including the track saw, dust extractor, drills etc etc at the same time? Do you have a solution that you’ve found practical?

The point is that those who can use public transport should, leaving space on the over congested roads for those who can’t. For example how many people do you see in cars at school in/out time. The luggage in those cars is actually equipped with legs and could easily move itself.
If you are really interested in being part of the solution, rather than looking for problems, you might discover that a massive amount of equipment, even 8x4 sheet goods does get moved around cities using cargo bikes. Or even with an existing bike Plywood Rack | Bikes At Work

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Use that in Cornwall you'd be blown off the road.

Cost is a big issue - five ten mile round trips to work would cost my wife £50 a week on the bus or £6.50 in diesel, and I don't expect the bank will relocate to the end of our road. Even costing the car at £15 per week (for those trips) to allow for tyres and servicing that's still £1680 per annum cheaper. Cities and large towns have very different problems to the countryside.

 

[paulrbarnard]

On another recent thread on here I’ve highlighted and linked the published latest research that highlights that the argument that cycles are inherently safer than other vehicles simply isn’t the case. You are only 40% more likely as an example of being killed or seriously injured (KSI) by a light goods vehicle than by a cyclist. Your only 60% more likely to be KSI by a car than a cyclist. The KSI rate caused by cyclists is increasing and for cars and LCV’s it’s consistently reducing year on year.
The number of KSI incidents would be nearly halved if men aged between 30 and 60 would leave their bikes at home. It highlights that there is a problem with the attitudes or riding rabbits if this group of people. Women are significantly safer on bikes than men. However, I don’t see any moves to reduce KSI caused by cyclists.

A somewhat disingenuous stat in a number of ways. The numbers seem to be from a FOI request to TFL. You have cherry picked LGV which had the lowest incidence compared to all other vehicle types. If you actually include all motorised vehicle it is a massively different picture. Secondly look for stats on Killed not injured and again the difference is a very different story.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Use that in Cornwall you'd be blown off the road.

No one works in Cornwall it’s just a second home resort for Londoners so a moot point really.

 

[doctor Bob]

Riding a bike seems to make you angry.
I see the stats also say it increases impotence.

So if it reduces the willy function and makes you angry, I'm out, not for me thanks.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Riding a bike seems to make you angry.
I see the stats also say it increases impotence.

So if it reduces the willy function and makes you angry, I'm out, not for me thanks.

Actually completely the opposite. Fitter and stronger so can go longer, on the bike as well. That makes me very happy

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No one works in Cornwall it’s just a second home resort for Londoners so a moot point really.

No need to be insulting.

 

[paulrbarnard]

No need to be insulting.

Wow someone has thin skin. That was supposed to have been ironic.