Author Archive

Law firm drums up biz with entitlement syndrome car tax disc holders

Law firm drums up biz with entitlement syndrome car tax disc holders

Vantage Law, a “young, eager, professional and enthusiastic” firm of personal injury solicitors in Liverpool, is promoting itself on the company Facebook page by promising tax disc holders for those who ‘like’ the posting. The tax disc holders have been available on eBay and Amazon for some years. 2618 have ‘liked’ the image posted by […]


Why do people hate cyclists?

Why do people hate cyclists?

One of the reasons, of course, is because cyclists are deemed to be “free-riders”, and don’t pay their fair-share for use of the road. This erroneous belief is easily batted out of the park but it’s mentioned time and time again in newspaper letter pages, newspaper columns and on radio phone-in shows. The BBC is […]


Wannabe UK citizens are told ‘road tax’ exists

Wannabe UK citizens are told ‘road tax’ exists

‘Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship’ is the official test book, published by The Stationery Office, and written by the Home Office Life in the UK Advisory Group, the group which sets the citizenship test, one of the requirements for anyone seeking Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK or naturalisation as […]


Sunday Times columnist calls for booze taxation to be spent on bigger pubs

Sunday Times columnist calls for booze taxation to be spent on bigger pubs

How can a motoring journalist get this far into a career without knowing how roads are paid for? Why does the Sunday Times give him money for writing articles with such factually incorrect information? At least Clarkson is a parody and often quite funny (Rutherford’s Swampy ‘joke’ is too weak for even the cheapest Christmas […]


TV quiz show host surprised at comeback after Wiggo-dissing “cyclists don’t pay road tax” rant

TV quiz show host surprised at comeback after Wiggo-dissing “cyclists don’t pay road tax” rant

TV quiz show presenter Nick Knowles can dish it out, but he can’t take it. On Twitter he took potshots at cyclists – we all wear Lycra, apparently, we all run red lights and we don’t pay road tax – and was surprised when Twitter users replied, robustly. He’s now blocking Twitter users who point […]


Why aren’t cyclists required to sit tests before using the public highway?

Why aren’t cyclists required to sit tests before using the public highway?

It’s good to know that this site is getting its message across to those who believe in the existence of long-dead ‘road tax’. Cyclists tend to know that roads are paid for by general and local taxation; sadly, some motorists believe their graduated vehicle excise duty coughs up for provision and maintenance of the carriageway. […]


What do motorists really mean when they say “cyclists should pay road tax”?

What do motorists really mean when they say “cyclists should pay road tax”?

Mark Cavendish was victim of some road rage yesterday, while out on a training ride in Essex with Russell Hampton. Although the episode was mentioned on Cav’s Twitter account the story was billed as an “Exclusive” in The Sun and was then picked up by Yahoo/Eurosport. Naturally, the @cyclehatred lovers started piling in, accusing cyclists […]


For letters pages: free ‘who pays for roads?’ text

For letters pages: free ‘who pays for roads?’ text

To some, ‘road tax’ is a stick to hit cyclists with. Sometimes the metaphorical stick is wielded on the road, but mostly it’s waved about on online forums and the letters pages of local and national newspapers. Should you wish to reply to those who bang on about motorists paying ‘road tax’, while cyclists don’t […]


Who should pay for cycle infrastructure?

Who should pay for cycle infrastructure?

No-brainer answer, really. Taxpayers should pay, and the money should come from the consolidated fund, i.e. the national coffers, as administered by the Treasury. This is how roads are paid for. All roads – including motorways – are paid for by all taxpayers. Many motorists believe there’s such a thing as ‘road tax’ and that […]


Polite admonishment after a “punishment pass” leads to truck driver shout: “Road tax!”

Polite admonishment after a “punishment pass” leads to truck driver shout: “Road tax!”

Bike-cam wearing cyclist in ‘cycle lane’ on an A-road gets buzzed by a truck – the all-too typical “punishment pass” – and asks, politely, for a bit more consideration and space next time. Reply from the Standard Scaffolding truck driver? “Road tax!” That’s short for “you don’t don’t pay road tax, cyclists shouldn’t be on […]


When a libertarian cites Sweden you know there’s something fishy going on

When a libertarian cites Sweden you know there’s something fishy going on

The Insitute of Economic Affair’s Head of Transport is at it again, and his libertarian views on why the roads we currently own should be sold off to private bidders for £150bn is all over the mainstream media, thanks to a flurry of ‘road tax’ stories. Dr Richard Wellings, a climate change skeptic, thinks cyclists […]


Think-tank’s Head of Transport says cyclists are “low-value”, don’t pay for roads and “delay traffic”

Think-tank’s Head of Transport says cyclists are “low-value”, don’t pay for roads and “delay traffic”

Let me introduce you to Richard Wellings. He has a PhD in transport and environmental policy. Dr Wellings works for the libertarian think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. He’s the IEA’s Deputy Editorial Director, and Head of Transport, too. He was educated at Oxford and the London School of Economics. In short, he’s bright. Which […]


Why the hate?

Why the hate?

Yesterday footballer John Terry was banned for four matches and fined £220,000 for racist comments he made on the pitch. Another footballer with racist views is John Thompson: he’s not in John Terry’s league. Er, he’s in the Liverpool CMS league. Thompson plays for AFC Kirkby. He has made hateful remarks on Twitter about Jews, […]


Bad news for cyclists as Government backtracks on definition of VED as an environmental duty

Bad news for cyclists as Government backtracks on definition of VED as an environmental duty

The Treasury has published its definition of environmental taxes, hoping to resurrect the tag of being the “greenest Government ever.” According to a press release, any tax is “environmental” if it is: “explicitly linked to the Government’s environmental objectives; the primary objective of the tax is to encourage environmentally positive behaviour change; and the tax […]


Peugeot scraps promotional references to ‘road tax’; Fiat refuses to do likewise

Peugeot scraps promotional references to ‘road tax’; Fiat refuses to do likewise

iPayRoadTax.com reader Leon Rushworth scored a coup of behalf of cyclists when he refused to take ‘no’ for an answer following a complaint to car company Peugeot, which had been using the words ‘road tax’ in a promotional campaign. Peugeot has now expunged reference to the tax abolished in 1937 thanks to Rushworth explaining that […]


When will drivers start paying the full costs of motoring?

When will drivers start paying the full costs of motoring?

With more and more cars becoming less polluting, the Government can see that the revenue generated from Vehicle Excise Duty is set to decrease year by year. Car tax will no doubt be restructured to account for this but there’s also a very strong argument that motorists should pay to use the roads they damage. […]


Addison Lee to train its drivers to be cyclist-aware

Addison Lee to train its drivers to be cyclist-aware

I met John Griffin today. I gave him an ipayroadtax jersey (later in the day I also gave one to the editor of The Times). I don’t suppose Griffin will ever wear it (the editor of The Times told me he cycles so I’m hoping he wears his), but just because he won’t be squeezing […]


How could Addison Lee repair its relationship with cyclists?

How could Addison Lee repair its relationship with cyclists?

All last week the media section of the Addison Lee website was topped by a press release giving John Griffin’s (law-breaking) views about his minicab drivers entering London’s bus lanes. This press release has now disappeared. This could be significant. [UPDATE: it was. Transport for London’s injunction was (mostly) successful. However, there’s still some wriggle […]


Who pays for roads?

Who pays for roads?

Motorists pay for roads, yes? No. All tax payers pay for roads, not just motorists. Those who pay income tax and those who pay council tax are the ones who pay for roads, and that’s not just motorists. And anybody who buys anything in Britain also helps to pay for roads because VAT also contributes […]


Oh dear, Addison Lee’s £23m smartphone app appears to be getting a roasting

Oh dear, Addison Lee’s £23m smartphone app appears to be getting a roasting

Paging Gerald Ratner! Paging Gerald Ratner! [UPDATE: Addison Lee has updated its app and this has nudged up the star rating from one-and-a-half stars to two-and-a-half stars. The 250+ bad reviews are now shunted backwards, leaving a shiny new space for some more comments. UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: At 16.30 on Monday 23rd April, the […]


Break-the-law minicab boss tells cyclists: “You want to join our gang? Get trained and pay up”

Break-the-law minicab boss tells cyclists: “You want to join our gang? Get trained and pay up”

John Griffin, the Addison Lee boss at the centre of a bus lane storm in London, uses his editorial in the latest issue of his corporate magazine to take a pot-shot at cyclists. Griffin recently told his ‘self-employed’ drivers to break the law and use bus lanes in London. Currently only black taxi cabs – […]


Man (with motor) v horse v bike

Man (with motor) v horse v bike

Cyclists are not the only ones to come under attack from we-pay-for-the-roads motorists. Horse riders are also abused by ignorant, impatient drivers. Last week a white van man was jailed for ten months for reversing into a young equestrian riding her horse on a Lancashire country lane. The horse suffered bruising; the female rider hurt […]


[UPDATE] Speeding killer driver given lenient sentence; BBC reporter belittles death of the cyclist, says “[cyclists] don’t pay road tax”

[UPDATE] Speeding killer driver given lenient sentence; BBC reporter belittles death of the cyclist, says “[cyclists] don’t pay road tax”

Kevin Hill, Assistant Editor of BBC East Midlands Today, has sent out a boilerplate answer to all those who complained about a road death story broadcast in mid-April. He admits that the presenter at fault could have asked the “road tax” question “more carefully” and then gives what he believes to be the more carefully […]


The Times posts new, correct “road tax” article

The Times posts new, correct “road tax” article

This morning, as part of its mostly excellent cycle safe campaign, The Times seemed confused on what paid for roads and included the two words that, when placed next to each other, are often spat at cyclists by motorists: “road tax”. Following much twittering back and forth, Times reporter Kaya Burgess got the following article […]