Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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19 comments
I'd start by a simple ban on using any motor vehicle for work purposes using a Provisional licence.
Won't be enforced, but it would be a start.
As delivery tends to be short distances, councils should see if they can force takeaways and services such as Deliveroo to use bikes and e-bikes only- no cars, mopeds or other motorbikes
Yeah! Ban all scousers now! Er? Have I misread something and just jumped in again?
But this was Yorkshire. Banning Northerners in general might work though.
Scooter kids know they are almost untouchable. All they need to do to negate a police pursuit is not wear a helmet. Those that do end up buying the farm then become martyrs against the police oppression that's stopping 'cheeky', 'mischievous' and 'fun-loving' kids have illegal fun that everyone else in the community loves. Like drug dealer Henry Hicks. A lovable rogue who was killed by the police because they actually wanted to try and stop him.
Not necessarily, and hopefully not at all soon. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/25/moped-attacks-prompt-rev...
Had similar last year on one of my frequent visits to my 'home' city, the chav element in Hull is pretty big so comes as no surprise. Got cut up by a guy on a moped then his 'mate' on a bike pushed me at the next set of lights from behind after I'd asked the moped rider what was the point of him pushing in front in the ASL given the lights ahead were going to stop his progress anyway. Anyway chavvy scum fecked off after I gathered my senses and laid my bike against the lampost to have words, fucking coward.
The drivers in Hull aren't too bad tbh, Ronny Pickering types notwithstanding.
Oh and the police will do fuck all, they might say they are but they won't.
Scooters are not necessarily mopeds. Scooters go up to and beyond 650cc. Some of them are pretty damn quick too. So a lot of decent riders are on them and banning them isn't the answer. More police on the streets proactively targeting these scum is the answer. It is (mostly) not the Plods fault as they are not the ones reducing their staffing levels.
Spurs fans are wankers though
Oi! My wife's a Spurs fan.
This opens up a whole new spectrum for where this thread could go...
All cyclists jump red lights, all moped riders are criminals, all Audi drivers are arseholes, all Torys hate poor people, all Corbynistas hate YOUR country, all Spurs fans are wankers, all Muslims support ISIS, all Christians are hypocrites, all Scots are tight, pissed and obese, all Scousers have a great sense of humour, all short, bald men with beards who love cycling are fucking awesome, all badgers are bastards, all motor home owners are swingers, all fixie riders drive furiously, in a wanton fashion, all bus drivers are misanthropes, all MPs are on the take, all contributors to Road.cc are too busy to proofread, all this has hurt my brain.
Ah my ironyometer is going off like the clappers here.
Scooters basically need banning. All they seem to be famous for at the moment is crime.
Cut out the middleman and make people learn to ride on proper motorbikes only as only criminals seems to want to use mopeds. Have a scooter amnesty and scrap the lot. The government doesn't want you getting 100mpg anyway. I've got a motorbike licence and I'd never consider riding a moped, may as well cycle.
Rant over.
Better still, force manufacturers to install security that actually works, rather than a simple barrel that can be defeated with a hammer. Immobilisers spread throughout the scooter would make stealing them much more difficult.
No they dont...
What we need is a strong well funded police force that has the resources to enforce the law and catch criminals. Not one that has seen huge funding cuts and officers leaving the force because of the immense stress of them having to do more with less money in the kitty.
There has been a serious rise in crime over the years because there are not enough police to enforce the law and go on patrol. The police have to ration out and actually prioritise and pick and choose who gets their undivided attention when someone reports a crime.
Maybe They have a plan: Maybe the idea is that things just get so bad that we'll happily accept Mega City One Judges or general martial law, cos then Something Is Being Done...
They would put surveillance cameras on each corner, but it's cheaper to let Joe Public buy their own and watch other citizens on their behalf, then report them to the central Policing.
There are surveillance cameras on practically every corner
I've had the same thought. Ban mopeds, their use and sale.
They serve no useful function other than delivering unhealthy food to people too lazy to go out and buy the stuff themselves. Apart from that, all they are used for is crime, by criminals too lazy to use a bicycle as a getaway vehicle.
However, I'd ban motorbikes as well. I'm sure their riders can find some other means of making an utterly preposterous racket just to prove their manliness. They could ride a bicycle while constantly shouting at the tops of their voices, for example, if hurting everyone's ears is so important to them.
Banning both would remove the need for those ridiculous barriers they put in as a futile effort to stop them using cycle paths. The benefits are multiple.