Road tax was abolished in 1937. Car owners pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), which is just a general tax – it’s not earmarked for roads, and it nowhere near covers what we spend on roads, let alone the cost to the NHS of air pollution and crashes. The OBR estimates that in 2022-23, VED will raise approximately £7.2 billion – just 0.3% of national income.
We all pay for our roads through income tax, VAT, etc whether or not we drive, so surely it’s right that all road users should have safe space, whether they are parents pushing buggies, wheelchair users, or people riding bikes.
Some people say “What ever the tax is called, drivers still pay more tax, so surely they should have more space”. But by that logic, we should give cigarette smokers more road space, since they contribute £10.9 billion per year.
We should be asking why cars are allowed to park on our roads and pavements, even though other items such as secure bike stores cannot legally be placed in the road.
Most towns and cities are now realising that something is fundamentally wrong, and they are making changes so that people can choose to use our roads safely when they use more environmentally friendly forms of transport, such as walking and cycling.
Living Streets Northampton 