PCC poorly informed on cyclists
I am surprised that a public servant at the level of Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne is so poorly informed. Two seconds on Google would have told her that ‘road tax; was abolished in 1937 and replaced with Vehicle Excise Duty, which is a tax on cars, not roads, and goes straight into the general Treasury fund. We all pay for roads out of general taxation – and cyclists get a raw deal compared to other road users, given that the UK spends less than £1 per head of population per year on cycling infrastructure.
Partly due to the lack of cycle infrastructure, every year around 19,000 cyclists are injured in road accidents, including around 3,000 who are killed or seriously injured (2013 figures, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). About 20 pedestrians are seriously injured each year by cyclists on pavements – too many, I agree, but if we had proper, safe cycle lanes this wouldn’t happen (most collisions occur when pedestrians step out into the road without looking where they’re going).
As taxpayers, cyclists contribute their share to roads and get very little in return – except abuse. Perhaps Ms Bourne needs to do some research before shooting from the hip in future.
Nick Hanna
Watermill Lane, Beckley