A roundabout coming to a road near you?

[Commander CMG]

The rising popularity of cycling in the capital has led safety experts to reveal their plans to make the roads safer.

Ideas currently being mooted at Transport for London’s research centre include roundabouts which prioritise cyclists over motorists, traffic lights fixed at the height of cyclists, and sensors fitted to the so-called ‘Boris bikes’ to help avoid collision with HGVs.

Many of the ideas are borrowed from schemes in place in Europe, and the £2 million TfL project aims to remove accident trouble spots.

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[Clarakore]

agenda 21 ftw!

Specifically Section 7.52

Subsection (c)

of Agenda 21

Edited April 30, 2013 by Leave Britney alone!

[johnny blue eyes]

I think its about time cyclist started paying road tax and insurance. Most are nothing but a hazard to us paying motorist who only follow the rules of the road when it suits them . Ignoring red lights, flitting from road to pavement to jump red lights etc. Should have to pass a practical and theory test as well to be sure they are as safe as possible and not creating the problems on the roads like they do.

Hands up if you get nervous when passing one on a busy road.

[stevewinn]

I think its about time cyclist started paying road tax and insurance. Most are nothing but a hazard to us paying motorist who only follow the rules of the road when it suits them . Ignoring red lights, flitting from road to pavement to jump red lights etc. Should have to pass a practical and theory test as well to be sure they are as safe as possible and not creating the problems on the roads like they do.

Hands up if you get nervous when passing one on a busy road.

i agree they should be paying road tax and insurance. plus having to pass a practical and theory test.

[Clarakore]

Cylists and pedestrians do not contribute to pollution and they will not incur the higher costs of health problems as those who are vehicle-dependant.

If we are to tax cyclists for road maintenance and the like then we need to up the tax on motorists for the environmental and public health toll they incur on our society. Someone has to pay for those things in the end too...

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

If you use the road, you need to help pay for it's maintance. It's a common courtesy IMO. After all, they'd be complaining if there are potholes etc in the road.

[spud the mackem]

Most Cities in U.K now have bicycle lanes on every road in the inner city,but cyclists prefer to ride on the white broken line in the middle of the road,trying to imitate Bradley Wiggins.I used to cycle myself,but not like some of these professional Idiots,and a lot of them wear dark gear with no lights on their bikes at night.

[Walter White]

The cost of road maintenance is payed for mainly by other taxes.

Vehicle Excise Duty (designed to nudge people towards low emission cars) on its own isn't enough to pay for the upkeep of the roads. So cyclists do pay for said upkeep.

If you were to make cyclists pay VED, they'd end up paying £0, as bicycles don't created emissions.

I do believe in cyclists taking theoretical and practical tests though, I did when I was at primary school.

[Space Commander Travis]

And Jeremy clarkson for Prime Minister! He'd ban cycling and make petrol free and abolish speed limits and abolish taxes!!

Edited May 2, 2013 by Colonel Rhuairidh

[Ealdwita]

boy oh boy, mention of the word "cyclists" is one of those words that really sets off the Clarksonian response, isn't it. (It's like a pavlovian response, only it involves a lot of spluttering about 'poor old motorists' being 'hammered for tax', while simultaneously, and this is the part they never mention, causing misery through noise and pollution for everyone in towns that were never designed to have tens of thousands of Cars pounding through them all day.)

I don't have too much of a problem with cyclists out here in the Badlands, but I do get annoyed greatly by their 'off-road' cousins - The RAMBLERS!!!! Cagoul-clad numpties lacking the brains to be train-spotters who consider themselves above and beyond byelaws and the Countryside Code, and firmly believe that the whole of the landmass of Britain is theirs by right to trample over at will (including - in one memorable case - my back garden).

[Taun]

Lord I hate traffic circles (what you call roundabouts)... The worst I ever had to endure was in Stuttgart, Germany three very large radius traffic circles that interlinked.... I never knew where I was....

[Clarakore]

Studies show that roundabout increase safety and save lives. So glad our policy makers do not ignore science.

[libstaK]

Studies show that roundabout increase safety and save lives. So glad our policy makers do not ignore science.

Agreed they are as annoying as all heck but they do give everyone a fair go. I my part of suburbia just about every crossroads starts with a round about, when new estates get built and therefore congestion becomes a problem, they replace them with lights but all in all, they make good sense at "lesser travelled intersections".

[Ealdwita]

Studies show that roundabout increase safety and save lives. So glad our policy makers do not ignore science.

And raises blood pressure ! Try Gravelly Hill Interchange, Birmingham UK - known locally as Spaghetti Junction....

Stick a cycle lane on that bad boy!

[Junior Chubb]

The cost of road maintenance is payed for mainly by other taxes.

Vehicle Excise Duty (designed to nudge people towards low emission cars) on its own isn't enough to pay for the upkeep of the roads. So cyclists do pay for said upkeep.

If you were to make cyclists pay VED, they'd end up paying £0, as bicycles don't created emissions.

I do believe in cyclists taking theoretical and practical tests though, I did when I was at primary school.

Thanks for pointing this out, its amazing how many are ignorant to this.

Its easy to knock cyclists, there are plenty of them who do not have a clue what they are doing (and the number is increasing), just as many motorists seem to be oblivious to the rules of the road too. A car driven recklessly is a lot more dangerous than a bicycle being ridden recklessly and education is the key to safety as mentioned.

Really, some of you sound like fat cat business tycoons oblivious to the world of the normal man while you cruise around in your luxurious oversized cars. I cycle and own two cars, I have the right to use the road regardless of my choice of transport.

[Michelle]

Thanks for pointing this out, its amazing how many are ignorant to this.

Its easy to knock cyclists, there are plenty of them who do not have a clue what they are doing (and the number is increasing), just as many motorists seem to be oblivious to the rules of the road too. A car driven recklessly is a lot more dangerous than a bicycle being ridden recklessly and education is the key to safety as mentioned.

Really, some of you sound like fat cat business tycoons oblivious to the world of the normal man while you cruise around in your luxurious oversized cars. I cycle and own two cars, I have the right to use the road regardless of my choice of transport.

Exactly, education is the key to safety and that goes for bicycles too. I live in one of the most bike friendly cities in the US with bike lanes everywhere and I see dangerous maneuvers like running red lights, passing between traffic lanes,and cutting people off all of the time. Then when one of them gets hit there is an uproar from the biking community.

You have to pay to tag and register both of those cars so they can be identified when they cause a wreck or violate the law. You can't drive one without tags and say you paid for the other one so you've paid your fair share.

[Junior Chubb]

You have to pay to tag and register both of those cars so they can be identified when they cause a wreck or violate the law. You can't drive one without tags and say you paid for the other one so you've paid your fair share.

Believe me I pay for both cars, VED and insurance. I had to use one just now, driving to the bike shop to buy a new brake cable as it snapped.

[spud the mackem]

I don't have too much of a problem with cyclists out here in the Badlands, but I do get annoyed greatly by their 'off-road' cousins - The RAMBLERS!!!! Cagoul-clad numpties lacking the brains to be train-spotters who consider themselves above and beyond byelaws and the Countryside Code, and firmly believe that the whole of the landmass of Britain is theirs by right to trample over at will (including - in one memorable case - my back garden).

Did you shoot him accidently ?.Trespassers will be shot,thats the notice outside Area 51,the no go zone in America.These guys don't understand notices,thats why they leave gates open.

[Black Red Devil]

I cycle and one of the good things about Sydney's road infrastructure is that it's provided a reasonable amount of space for bike lanes which, in my opinion, hasn't affected traffic flow in any way. Couldn't say the same about the increasing amount of roundabouts which are an absolute nuisance and not at all user friendly to cyclists as the OP claims.

[spud the mackem]

London has the biggest roundabout in the world,the M25 motorway,you can spend a full day on it and still wont get right around,just as well cyclists are banned.

[Asadora]

I think horses should have to pay road tax... or at least the people who ride them on the main roads... and of course tax the horse buggies/carriages that a particular sect of society seems to drive quite a lot near where I live.

[Mr.United_Nations]

I think horses should have to pay road tax... or at least the people who ride them on the main roads... and of course tax the horse buggies/carriages that a particular sect of society seems to drive quite a lot near where I live.

Problem with that is you can take horses pretty much anywhere.

I heard that there are a few people that want mobility scooters to pay for road tax

[Michelle]

Problem with that is you can take horses pretty much anywhere.

I heard that there are a few people that want mobility scooters to pay for road tax

Why would they say that? Those scooters are not street-legal vehicles.

[Mr.United_Nations]

Why would they say that? Those scooters are not street-legal vehicles.

What happened was one of them hit a pedestrian and now that the person and a few other people want them on roads and make them to pay road tax. It was bizzare, think it was in my local paper and on BBC south today few months ago.

[Ealdwita]

Did you shoot him accidently ?.Trespassers will be shot,thats the notice outside Area 51,the no go zone in America.These guys don't understand notices,thats why they leave gates open.

I just let the dogs play with them for a few minutes. Then I shouted "Git orf moi land!" very loudly and waved my stick at them!

London has the biggest roundabout in the world,the M25 motorway,you can spend a full day on it and still wont get right around,just as well cyclists are banned.

More of a giant, circular car park, most days!