One of the most common issues which angers many motorists is that cyclists do not pay road tax. Cyclists shold pay the tax, they argue, before they should be allowed to ride on the road. Cyclists are tax-dodgers. Criminals. Hippies. The reaction of many cyclists when confronted with the statement you don’t pay road tax is the almost-instinctive neither do you, but I think that misses an important point. Perception.

That paper disc is important. For some drivers it is more important than not running low on fuel when the garage is closed. It is more important than checking tyre pressures or tread depth. It is important because it lets motorists drive their car. Motorists have to pay to use the road, so why are cyclists exempt?

Most motorists don’t care that Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is not road tax. It actually doesn’t matter that the money which is spent on the little paper disc which sits in the window does not go towards the road. It isn’t important. The argument that many (if not most) cyclists do pay VED is a moot point too. I own a car, currently two in fact, and pay my VED as appropriate. I pay VED for each vehicle - it doesn’t matter that I already pay it once for my other car. The tax needs to be paid for each vehicle. Motorists pay to use the road, cyclists don’t.

So what gives?

Let us spin back to the beginning, the idea that cyclists don’t pay for the road. They do, through their council tax. By and large, cyclists are not tax dodgers and pay their council tax, which in turn goes on to fund the building and maintenence of local roads. Cyclists also contribute to the general pot which funds motorways as well - they don’t get a rebate just because they can’t cycle on them. This is not to mention that regular cyclists are likely to be healthier and less likely to be a burden on the NHS. Cycling saves the tax payer money.

What was that about maintenance? Roads need to be paid for sure, but over time they get damaged and need to be repaired too. More costs mean more tax, and drivers often perceive that they pay more of it than cyclists.

So what damages the roads? Rain, ice, and vehicles are the major culprits. The heavier the vehicle, the more damage to the road. Even the heaviest bike doesn’t weigh as much as the average car… so it doesn’t do as much damage. Perfectly logical. What isn’t clear is just how many powers more damage a car does to the road than a bicycle.

Assuming fourth power axle weight ratio if a bicycle had a weight of half that of a car, the car would be causing approximately 16 times the damage to the road surface than the bike. A bike does not weigh half that of a car, but substantially less. Cars and heavier vehicles cause hundreds (or even thousands) of times more damage than a bicycle. Cycling, once again, saves the tax payer money.

This is not even including additional damage caused by air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, space used for parking, congestion, fatal and non-fatal “accidents” all of which is exacerbated by high vehicle usage. VED paid by the poor persecuted motorist barely makes a dent in the costs.

And - get this - VED is, in many cases, an entirely voluntary tax anyway. You don’t have to pay it if you don’t want to. This is no secret although it is rarely talked about. No one will strongarm you into signing the cheque, or drag you off to court. Saving that extra cash from the Government’s pocket is easy, and all it requires is to do something people have been doing since the dawn of man: live without the car.

The automotive industry has been hugely successful in promoting the lifestyle idea that cars are necessary. They are not. Desirable, maybe. Useful, certainly. However as a culture we have become dependant upon motorised transport by choice.

A case in point: each Saturday my wife and I walk into town to do our weekly shop whilst our neighbours drive. We arrive at the shops roughly the same time, once the neighbours have found somewhere to park, paid, and walked from the car park to the High Street. Now, it is certainly more convenient to use the car to transport the shopping back home, but is it really necessary? No, of course it isn’t, but they choose to drive because it suits them. It isn’t laziness (far from it) but it is a choice.

A cyclist does not pay “road tax” because they do not inherently pollute, and because they cause substantially less damage to roads than heavier motorised vehicles. They reduce the tax burden on other government and public departments, and help to reduce congestion.

See also:

Why do cyclists ride on the road?

Why do cyclists ride in the middle of the road?

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