Andrew & Joanne <[email hidden]> wrote:
Q1. Do you think that motorists would accept you being on the road more, if you were required to
register your bicycle in order to ride on the public road? Yes/No
No. It would make things ***one hell of a lot worse***. Some very recent research has found that the
injury rate of cyclists is strongly related to the number of cyclists in a given area. This has been
noted in 6-8 different datasets of cyclist injuries vs amount of cycling in several different
countries and also across countries. The relationships are pretty convincing and look almost
identical in each case. If the number of cyclists on the roads halves, the research shows that
injury rate per cyclist increases by an average of 60%.
Registration could easily halve the amount of cycling - do you really want your risk of injury to
increase by 60%?
Q2. If you were required to register your bicycle, would you accept the requirement more if the cost
of it meant that you received a discount on the cost of registering your, or a nominated motor
vehicle? Yes/No
No. Both cyclists and the environment would be better off if the cost of registering motor vehicles
were reduced to a nominal administrative fee, with road user charges (including CTP) raised by a
levy on petrol/diesel. Cars that are kept in the garage do no harm to anyone. It's insane to tax
motor vehicle ownership instead of motor vehicle use. It's also inequitable. Those who can't afford
to drive much pay the same as those who drive hundreds of kms a day and so have a much greater
chance of needing their CTP insurance.
Q3. If you were required to register your bicycle, would you accept a cost of say $10 per single,
$15 per couple, $25 per family (3 or more bikes for persons aged over 12 years of age) Yes/No
No.
Q4. If you were required to register your bicycle would you want the registration to include Third
Party Insurance? Yes/No
No. You mean CTP insurance for the medical costs to other road users, similar to that required for
car drivers? How many road users are injured severely enough to require medical treatment every year
by cyclists? Wouldn't the administration costs be 10 or 100 times more than the cost of the claims?
Do you really think this is a sensible idea?
Q5. If you were required to register your bicycle do you think that the registration would assist to
reduce the incidence of theft or assist in the recovery of those bicycles? Yes/No
Not really. Some indelible identification on the frame may help, but I can't see why registration
would make any difference. Registration wouldn't necessarily even require indelible id on the frame!
Q6. If you were required to register your bicycle would you consider a method of being paid per
documented ride as a rebate on motor vehicle registration, or as a payment? Yes/No
I'd much rather follow the "user-pays" principle and charge motorists (via a petrol/diesel levy) for
the true costs of using the roads, including greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. If we did
this, we could reduce other taxes, or have enough money to fix up our hospitals, medicare and all
the other things Governments should be doing but claim they can't because of lack of funds.
Q7. If you were required to register your bicycle would you prefer a personalised plate? Yes/No
No. It would probably increase the weight and wind resistance. Of course, I might not bother
registering the bike - just use the car instead. I'm sure that, like the helmet law, it would deter
people from cycling.
Q8. What country do you live in? Australia
