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Comment by MisterMower

12 hours ago

Cyclists contribute to congestion and occupy road space that was created through taxes on motorists while paying nothing for these benefits.

Cyclists are not licensed and their bicycles are not tagged or inspected for safe operation on roads, unlike motorists.

Cyclists are rarely subjected to traffic law enforcement despite demanding all of the rights that motorists pay for and are licensed for.

Cyclists are a danger to themselves and others while operating in the same area as motorists, but are not required to carry insurance or wear safety equipment, while motorists are held to more stringent regulation.

In a nutshell, cyclists are free-riding risk takers who are arrogant to boot. When they start acting like motorists and pay taxes like motorists and are fined like motorists for violating the law, I will happily change my opinion.

9 comments

MisterMower

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Mawr  10 hours ago

> Cyclists contribute to congestion

How many cyclists can fit in a space of one car? Or, would you rather that every cyclist was in a car instead? Would that increase or decrease congestion?

> occupy road space that was created through taxes on motorists while paying nothing for these benefits

So roads get funded in full by motorists and cyclists can't possibly also own motorized vehicles and they don't pay tax that definitely doesn't contribute to the roads that they surely wear down at a rate that's not on the order of tens to hundreds of thousands lower than cars. Oh and 16 lane highways are built because of all the damn cyclists clogging up the roads.

> Cyclists are not licensed and their bicycles are not tagged or inspected for safe operation on roads, unlike motorists.

A cyclist on the road is only a danger to himself. A motorist can mow down a school trip on a pedestrian crossing on a whim.

The latter two points just repeat the above. Yes, driving a 2 ton machine at 80 mph is going to have be a little more restricted than a 20 kg bicycle at 20 mph.

achierius  11 hours ago

I do pay taxes, just like a motorist might. Where do you live that you think your car or your gas is taxed in a way that contributes to road upkeep? In the US gas taxes haven't been upped in decades, roadways are maintained out of the common coffers (incl. large federal incentives which come straight out of your income tax payments).

  • josephcsible  10 hours ago

    > In the US gas taxes haven't been upped in decades

    But the tax is still constantly being collected even though the rate isn't going up. This is like saying electricity must be free if you haven't had a rate hike in a while.

  • MisterMower  11 hours ago

    Because motorists don’t fund all road upkeep, cyclists who consume those very same roads are entitled to pay none of it? What exactly is your point?

    For the record, I support closing that gap, in addition to taxing the odometer on electric vehicles which don’t contribute to gas tax revenue but use roadways like other motorists.

    • Mawr  10 hours ago

      > Because motorists don’t fund all road upkeep, cyclists who consume those very same roads are entitled to pay none of it?

      I don't think you understood what you wrote. Non-motorists subsidize motorists.

      Feel free to look up the % of funding for roads that gas tax or w/e accounts for in your country.

      Also look up the fourth power law, that'll tell you how much tax a cyclist should pay compared to a driver in terms of road wear. Say a cyclist should pay $1, how much should you?

      Then check how many millions it costs to build a mile of highway and internalize the fact that cyclists are not allowed there. Nor do they use car parking. Nor do they cause 40 thousand deaths per year in the USA. What's the cost of human life again?

      Once you figure all that out, we'll be ready to start talking about pollution and its effects.

nostrebored  11 hours ago

Motorists __DO NOT COVER__ the costs of roads. Your existence as a motorist is entirely subsidized. The cost of driving is borne by government and society. Road infrastructure, maintenance, and space for cars is actually insanely expensive.