Cyclists pay road tax too - and now you can let motorists know that

How about license plates for bikes so we can catch the thousands of them that run red lights!

Nice idea, but unfortunately most of the cretins who cut me up are apparently incapable of noticing several superbright flashing led's and are therefore very unlikely to register the design of shirt I'm wearing, or understand the subtleties of the argument behind it.

Yeh what he said

The point about it being VED is made in the story above and the people behind the jersey obviously understand that too, problem is that the vast majority of the motoring and general public don't seem to get that distinction - this is surely intended as a riposte to them by making the point that a lot of cyclists pay road tax because they also own cars. In fact I'm sure I've seen some data which showed that as a group cyclists tend to own more cars than the average for the general population.

How's it going to help, well if it makes the point, to those drivers ignorant of how the roads are actually funded, that cyclists have a right to be there it could contribute to improving driver behaviour… and it's done with some wit, okay the style might be a bit iffy though

Two points

First, no one pays road tax. It's called Vehicle Excise Duty and is based on the emissions of the vehicle. As my bike is zero rated for emissions it seems only right and proper that there is no VED on it. So although I pay VED for my car I do not for my bike. So why make a jersey that implies that I do?

Secondly, in what sense will bringing this message- that bicycle riders also pay tax - help us out on the road? It isn't going to make car drivers suddenly think "oh I must pass them slowly and be careful not to cut them up at the roundabout". It seems a big ask that people as ill informed about road safety, the highway code, cycling, taxation etc etc as they are will be able to read a shirt and make this cognitive leap

And the best bit about it is that you have to apply for a new shirt every 6/12 months otherwise you'll get grief from any petrol heads (those that actually notice) for tax dodging. So, repeat business guaranteed?

Seriously: like the idea. It addresses general ignorance in a humourous, thought-provoking way, so stands a good chance of success.

You'd better have long limbs for those arm warmers...

The UK Government does not have plans to make cyclists pay road tax Gil. I think you've got the wrong end of the stick.

i think bicycle help saving the earth and we dont take much room in the road !! why the hell the uk gov wan money in any way they can !! uk gov SUCKS!!!!

Cars cause road wear, bicycles don't. Road tax is also linked to the emissions of a vehicle, which of course bicycles don't make. Bicycles also take up minimal space on the roadway and have a minimal effect on congestion. This is why bicycles don't pay road tax and nor should they have to.

The t-shirt's a good idea.

Thanks for the story! And thanks for correcting the URL. I thought about calling it iPayRoadTaxToo.com but even without the 'too' it's long.

The site - still in its infancy - will also carry rebuttal info on the other standard 'taxi driver' arguments thrown at cyclists.

Link is wrong Simon... http://ipayroadtax.com/