There is a major debate between motorists and cyclists over road tax and who deserves the right on the road, when in fact there is no such thing as ‘road tax’ anymore.

In 1937 road tax was abolished and replaced with vehicle excise tax. This is not a tax on the road but in fact a tax on the vehicle itself, with prices based on engine size and emissions released – technically creating a ‘pollution tax’.

A common phrase ‘no say no pay’ is angering cyclists as motorists deem priority of the roads.  It’s the same concept as a 4x4 having more rights on the road than a 1.1 engine city car because they pay more tax, when both cars have equal priority.

Motorists that have been cut up by aggressive cyclists and seen cyclists jump red lights – creating a danger have some sympathy over the idea that ‘roads would be better if cars had formal priority’.

A tweet stating ‘#bloodycyclists do not pay road tax’ went viral as a motorist boasted about hitting a cyclist. This caused uproar before the motorist was charged with driving carelessly and failing to report an accident.   

A website – ipayroadtax.com has been created to persuade official bodies to lead the way in banning the phrase road tax, and the abuse towards cyclists because of it.

Road tax was founded in 1909 to fund road building but by 1926 was already on its way out.

The DVLA have now adjusted their adverts to change road tax to vehicle tax. Other companies such as the post office, gov.uk and the AA also call it car tax.

A survey was carried out on twenty motorist regarding their thoughts on car tax. Fifteen out of twenty believed it to be called road tax – with the majority believing that the tax was to fund pothole repairs. Four people called it car tax and one person called it vehicle tax monthly.

So what do you think? Should cyclists be treated equally to vehicles on the road?

- Danielle Wheeler