I am a driver and don't pay insurance or VED, why?
Because the car that I drive is a company car that my employer pays the insurance for.
The car is also a plug in hybrid ultra low emissions so no VED is payable either.
To add further insult to injury, I drive at least 30,000 miles per year.
I also cycle as a hobby, oh dear!
Thanks everyone for your sympathy and good wishes.
I am only just starting to recover. It was a series of badly pulled muscles behind my shoulder blade / arms/ lats, and ribs cracked in a couple of places. I have been very uncomfortable and incapacitated over Christmas, but am now starting to feel a bit better. I can almost take a whole deep breath!
I have great sympathy with cyclists in general in the face of cars and some truly dangerous / oblivious car driving. It's why I don't cycle on roads, I am just not confident enough.
This pavement was not a shared space, it was a normal pavement. I was walking through a local park today where the paths are deemed official shared space. All good, except that many cyclists were going very fast indeed. Amongst wavering toddlers and people with dogs. I think shared spaces work best if people go more or less at the same speed as each other, and not fast enough to do damage.
To be honest, I am not sure I would have been worse off had I been hit by a car going at the same speed as the bike was.
Anyway, take care out there - I do believe campers are of a type to be responsible and look out for others. That has always been my happy experience, anyway.
Quote: I don't think that cycle registration and/or compulsory insurance is the answer either.
But without registration/identification there is no accountability and no redress for those injured by (small minority) of irresponsible cyclists.
A former colleague of mine suffered life-changing injuries after being hit by a cyclist who ignored a red light in a town centre. It ended her career and caused her significant financial hardship. If a car driver had done the same, they would have been prosecuted and she would have got compensation for her lost earnings and lifelong disability.
There is, I suspect, and outdated belief that being hit by a cyclist is a minor bump. But as there are more and more cyclists (a good thing, of course, where it is an alterative to an engine) and more are travelling at considerable speed the risk of quite serious accidents increases.
There was the woman in London who was killed by a cyclist who had removed some of his brakes. He was prosecuted, because of the brake removal, I think.
Most companies offer the cycle to work scheme, even if you can't use the bicycle to get work, as it is seen as a form of well being and keeping the employee fit, all employees at a firm that offer the scheme are entitled to benifit from it.
Cycle to work scheme is one of the reasons why the numbers of bikes we see have increased expediently over recent years.
My concern now is that in this modern age, many folk are opting to go for an Ebike, and some cycle to work schemes if not all, allow you to have an ebike.
The modern ebike is a motor vehicle in all but name, but is still only classed as a bicycle by the law, it is ebikes that really need to be registered and insured not push bikes.
In fact in countries were "S" Pedelec ebikes are permitted this is indeed the case, and the bike has a mini sized number plate on the rear, to indicate that it is not classed as a bicycle, also a "S" Pedelec helmet is required to be worn, not a motorcycle helmet but just a beefed up regular style cycle helmet, also "S" Pedelecs are not permitted on regular cycle paths.
The U.K. Gov needs to get with the program, and do a radical update of the cycle laws in the uk.
1. regular bicycles law fine as it is.
2. Ebike registered and insured regular cycle helmet required.
3. "S" Pedelec ebike registered and insured "S" ebike helmet required, bike not permitted on regular of road cycle paths.
For info "S" Pedelecs are permitted on UK roads but only if registered with the DVLA as a Moped, which is not a solution it's just a loophole in the law, as the UK does not have a classification for "S" Pedelecs, which is crazy as they make for the most perfect commuter bike, being able to keep up with traffic at 28mph unlike a regular ebike which shuts the power of at 15mph.
When I cycled to Uni and work many years ago, most bikes were 'sit up and beg' and not the high performance models they are today. Far fewer cyclists were in serious cycle training and expecting to travel at speed on city and suburban roads. And some see a pavement as a handy alternative.....
According to the National Office of Statistics around 25 people each year are killed directly by animals, more are killed by road accidents relating to animals and yet more die from infection and diseases associated with animals. Of the 25 directly related animal deaths in the UK, our top 5 killers are:
1. Horses: about 10 a year
2. Cows: about 5 a year
3. Domestic dogs: about 4 per year
4. Bees & Wasps: about 3 per year
5. Deer – attacks about 1 per year
Hope that all bruises are soon gone.
In a local town about here, there is a main road, (which is an 'artery' into the next big town) it has a lovely cycle path (separate from pedestrians) the length of it with underpasses at the roundabouts, right into the main town in fact, so WHY do cyclists ignore the cycle path and 'mix it' with all the HGVs, busses, vans etc. that use the road?
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Knocked down by cyclist on pavement.
