Q6: Why are compulsory licences and number plates for cyclists & cycles such a bad idea? Licences and number plates to regulate a relatively harmless activity like cycling would be a waste of time, effort and tax-payers’ money. It would probably suppress cycling too – not a good thing for public health. Introducing licences and number plates to regulate cycling would not be cost-effective because it would: Make negligible difference to people’s safety •
Compared to motor vehicles, cycles pose little danger to others, including pedestrians and car occupants, but their riders are: less likely to be assigned a ‘contributory factor’ in collisions with motor vehicles than the drivers involved, but considerably more likely to be hurt (see Qs 2 & 3)
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Cycles are relatively light, low speed and they’re easy to learn to ride – it’s so simple that many toddlers manage it. Conversely, driving involves operating a large, heavy piece of complex machinery capable of high speeds. Quite rightly, this has to be regulated and you must be at least 17 before you’re even allowed to take a test.
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Any new regulations would probably miss their target altogether. Reckless cyclists would probably go on riding regardless of the regulations. Indeed, Toronto stopped issuing cycling licences long ago because they failed to change offending behaviour.34
Discourage people from cycling, so society would lose out •
Banning people from cycling if they haven’t registered/licensed themselves is likely to put many off, especially would-be cyclists or those who, like many, ride intermittently or seasonally. Society would then lose out on the health, wellbeing, environmental and economic benefits of cycling (Qs 1 & 10). 35
Burden the police for no good reason • •
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Forces are stretched and need to focus their resources on tackling real threats to the public which, in the case of road safety, come from motor vehicles. Even if supplied with a licence plate number, officers find it challenging enough to pursue every single report of motoring offences, particularly if they think it’s “minor”. Reports of infringements involving number-plated cycles are highly unlikely to attract a more robust response, unless the incident is serious or fatal in which case they would respond anyway, whether or not the vehicles involved were number-plated. City of Toronto. Bicycle Licensing. See, for instance, p9 of DfT’s Gear Change: a bold vision for cycling and walking, July 2020.
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