Portsmouth Green Ian McCulloch's Cycling Letter Published

"Dear Sir,

There have been many letters to this paper recently complaining about cyclists in Portsmouth and our failure to pay tax, pay for the upkeep of roads, carry insurance etc. so I wanted to put a few things straight.  Like most cyclists, I also own a car.  The fact that I only use it when I have to, and cycle the rest of the time, does not get me any reduction in my VED, aka car tax.  VED is a tax on vehicle ownership, the proceeds of which go into general treasury funds.  The upkeep of roads is financed by local authorities out of the council tax paid by all of us, regardless of how we choose to travel. 

Also, like many cyclists, I do carry 3rd party insurance.  Mine (along with that of 67,000 other cyclists) comes as a membership benefit from the Cyclists Touring Club, but other people choose to take out their own, for their own protection as well as others'.

We are all concerned when we see someone recklessly cycling along a busy pavement, I see it myself regularly here in North End, but let's keep a sense of proportion.  It's frustrating and annoying, but how many injuries does it actually account for?  Cyclists on the roads of Portsmouth face considerable danger themselves, we have the worst rate of cycle accidents outside of London, and in the last year it has risen by 9%.  Against a backdrop of reduced sentences (currently only 80% of motorists convicted of killing another road user have their licence taken away, compared to 94% ten years ago) cyclists and pedestrians should see themselves jointly as the victims of the small element of car users who choose to drive badly and dangerously.

Yours faithfully,

Ian McCulloch
Portsmouth Green Party"

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