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Should cyclists pay road tax?


MORNE

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Ooooh. Taxing groups of people because they annoy us. I like this idea.

 

Can I please add the following to the list?

 

  • Vegans on their soap boxes
  • Religious fanatics
  • Public pissers
  • Telemarketers
  • Jaywalkers

The ridiculousness of my comment matches the ridiculousness of taxing cyclists.

I reckon we could also throw in the corrupt politicians.... It would be great if they paid tax too.

 

Adding more laws is great. The Western Cape Judicial cabinet is so bonkers right now they might pass just about anything. Goliath vs the Hlopes is classic. That is a can of worms that, if opened, could get nasty. Then look at the Mkhwebane debacle..... Make more laws! Give these clowns MORE authority over what we can and can't do........ seems like a great idea

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I do like the idea of a cycling specific k53 type test. At the moment I can go over a stop sign without stopping and when a traffic officer pull me over I can tell him that I am piet pompies and he have to believe me. A basic road use test and issue a type of license card. Now the officer can fine me like a car if I do wrong. The idea is nice, but would obviously never work.

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Ooooh. Taxing groups of people because they annoy us. I like this idea.

 

Can I please add the following to the list?

 

  • Vegans on their soap boxes
  • Religious fanatics
  • Public pissers
  • Telemarketers
  • Jaywalkers

The ridiculousness of my comment matches the ridiculousness of taxing cyclists.

 

Not completely ridiculous. It's about time we tax all churches/religious organisations.

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YES

 

I'll have no problem paying a road tax because then i won't have to keep to the side of the road.As a payer i will ride where the smoother  parts are and where there's no glass and car debris.

Do you think a simple thing like that will change motorists' bad attitudes towards cyclists?

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Next thing you know you will be fitted with a fart-o-meter so that the govmint can tax you for toxic emissions

they already tax you on harvesting energy using PV panels.....from the sun. i thought sunburn was for free?

 

i wont put it past them lol

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As has already been mentioned, licencing has nothing to do with road wear and tear. That is funded from the general fiscus. 

 

According to South African traffic laws, bicycles are regarded as legal vehicles. We have the right to use the road. (And pedestrians have that same right too).

 

Licencing implies privilege - you need to meet a certain requirement to enjoy the right to use your vehicle of choice, be that competence, accountability, compliance etc. To drive my car I need both a driver's licence (competency) as well as a licence for that car (accountability, compliance with local regulations - pollution, road worthiness, rules of the road etc.).

 

So the questions are:

  1. Who needs the licence, the rider or the bicycle, or both?
  2. What minimum requirements does the rider or the bicycle need to meet?

If those minimum requirements are so low (my 5 year old son can ride a bike in the road - does he need a licence?), what is the practical purpose of licences for cyclists or bicycles?

 

This whole topic is an emotive one whereby motorists believe they have an absolute right and that cyclists are infringing on their right, where, in reality, the complete opposite is true.

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Yeah - except that (as far as I'm aware) pretty much no "tax" that we pay here gets ring-fenced, it all just goes to the general fiscus and then doled out to departments / provinces / municipalities however Treasury sees fit.

 

My point exactly, why ask for more tax when it will do nothing to improve circumstances revolving around cyclists or road use

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My point exactly, why ask for more tax when it will do nothing to improve circumstances revolving around cyclists or road use

"why ask for more tax when it will do nothing to improve circumstances revolving around dog ownership and the condition in which they are kept"

 

see what i did there...

as a reference to what sparked this whole argument this morning on the radio.

 

The sad part is...pretty sure the SPCA or whoever will do inspections like the SABC do for licences...just rock up and fine you and force you on the spot to get a licence or have your crap confiscated. or they'll make your vet decline service if your animal has no licence. 

 

- true story...thats how i took ownership of a tv licence when I was a student.  :blink:

Edited by morneS555
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Should cyclist pay road tax: No

Should there be a cycling specific k53 type test: No 

 

I pass many less fortunate cyclists daily with no other means of transport - to burden them with either tests or licenses/taxes is ridiculous. 

(not to even mention the kind of abuse they will suffer from SA officials)
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Imagine the stereotypical entitled cyclist riding 2 or 3 abreast on a busy road pulling zap signs and swearing at the motorists hooting at them...

 

...but now with a licence!

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they already tax you on harvesting energy using PV panels.....from the sun. i thought sunburn was for free?

 

i wont put it past them lol

er, no they don't

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