Cyclists Will Not Like This.

[Raven]

At last some good News in the paper today. Cyclists have got away with bad behaviour for far too long. I am really pleased that they will now have to abide by the rules like the rest of the road users.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/19530312/cyclists-number-plates-insurance-proposed-new-laws/

[Jacqueline]

Sense at last, but will it ever happen?

[JBR]

I am so very pleased to hear this.
I have been pushing the idea of number plates and insurance for cyclists for years now in newspaper comments and other social media, on the grounds that many 'entitled' cyclists seem to be free to behave irresponsibly and taking advantage of the fact that they are unidentifiable.  
Recently, when I suggested this again, someone (almost certainly a cyclist) poured scorn on my words stating that number plates for cyclists would be impossible as the plates would be too big to be a practical addition.  I responded that they needn't be any wider than the cyclist's backside and could be fitted just below the saddle.
Whether this will ever happen is, of course, anything but certain but at least the right people are now talking about it.  
If some forward-thinking politician (are there any?) should decide that this must happen, I'd love to see those selfish cyclists who jump red lights, cycle three abreast intentionally slowing down traffic, cycle on the pavement, etc, etc, suddenly have to come to terms that they are no longer effectively above the law!

[Ashy]

Slice by slice they take away our freedoms. We are heading towards a totalitarian society.

Cyclists are already bound by the same laws as all vehicles. Plod can't be bothered to enforce the laws so we have cyclists on the pavement, no lights, wrong direction, etc. as well as construction and use laws specific to bicycles.

[Scrumpy]

I find most cyclists to be ignorant of other road users.. They are growing in popularity and because of this they feel important.. 
Roads around here are closed when they all get together and do a bike ride..
Yet, the London to Brighton (old cronks race) never had this luxury.. Many, many people turned out to watch and wave as they passed by... Other motorist respected them because they never expected priority when they did their yearly run..

[JBR]

Cyclists are already bound by the same laws as all vehicles. Plod can't be bothered to enforce the laws so we have cyclists on the pavement, no lights, wrong direction, etc. as well as construction and use laws specific to bicycles.

True.  'Plod can't be bothered' probably because cyclists are unidentifiable.
Motorists misbehaving (and there are many) can be spotted and recorded by street cameras even though there aren't any police these days, but cyclists can happily ignore cameras because there is no way of proving on recordings who they are.
I believe that, as misbehaving cyclists increase in number, the authorities will have to put in place means of identifying them.

[klondike]

Cyclists are already bound by the same laws as all vehicles. Plod can't be bothered to enforce the laws

I doubt they will enforce these either. Don't forget that the reason we never see GPs these days is because they found where the police had been buying their invisibility cloaks this past decade in return for GPs telling them how to install nonanswering phones.

[Alex]

I can't see how this can possibly work 

[klondike]

It won't. 

Hire battery scooters are legal as the rider is (in theory at least) in possession of a driving licence (only needs to be a provisional) they each have a number and are insured by the hire company. There are as many or more illegal ones zooming around here and I have never heard of any prosecutions. Add in the thousands of pedal cycles, legal battery cycles and maybe the illegal ones and the police force wouldn't be able to adequately ensure that nobody was misgendered or insulted on Twitter so it's a non starter.

[JBR]

I thought that those electric scooters were illegal on roads and could only be ridden on private land.  Not that it makes any difference, as I've seen them all over the place.
Still, as you say, just as long as they're not discussed on Twitter!

[klondike]

These ones are legal in many places. They are supposed to only be ridden on the road.
https://www.voiscooters.com/

Others here will have seen this but as a newcomer you won't have. This was caught by my CCTV

[JBR]

Serves the stupid bugger right.  A pity about the damage caused to the car, though, and of course the rider will be unidentifiable.

I'm sure I read recently that electric scooters may only be ridden on private land.

[klondike]

Personally owned ones can only be used on private land but the Voi ones in the link above are legal.
The scooters all have numbers and the rider at any given time is known to the company so the rider is identifiable. I don't think the car was damaged but the driver's underpants may have been collateral damage. The scooter had a bent mudguard which the rider straightened out by hand and eventually rode off.

[1955vintage]

Piano wire would be a solution.

[Scrumpy]

Piano wire.!!  What a great idea.. Me and my mate can hold an end each.. I reckon we could could behead a few old 'uns driving mobility vehicles... and trip up those on foot who walk too slowly..