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 the road.”

I shall report back if Standard Scaffolding reply to my email asking what they plan to do about this driver.

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Road tax doesn’t exist. It’s car tax, a tax on cars and other vehicles, not a tax on roads or a fee to use them. Motorists do not pay directly for the roads. Roads are paid for via general and local taxation. In 1926, Winston Churchill started the process to abolish road tax. It was finally culled in 1937.

The ironically-named iPayRoadTax.com helps spread this message on cycle jerseys. Car tax is based on amount of CO2 emitted so, if a fee had to be paid, cyclists – who are sometimes branded as ‘tax dodgers’ – would pay the same as ‘tax-dodgers’ such as disabled drivers, police cars, the Royal family, and band A motorists, ie £0. Most cyclists are also car-owners, too, so pay VED.