Cyclists should pay to use roads
Dear Editor
I write regarding your article (Observer, November 1, 2011, in which councillors suggested police should treat cyclists who use the road irresponsibly in the same way as they deal with inconsiderate motorists.
Cyclists should use the road in a proper manner. Often, you see them in a bunch talking to each other. When a car passes they start shouting at it.
In my view they should pay to use the roads like everyone else. If they damage a car, knock down a pedestrian or cause any other damage, who pays for it; not them.
I have seen a cyclist run into the back of a parked car whilst using his phone. It caused a lot of damage including the back window being smashed and rear bumper broken. It’s time they paid insurance like the
Lest we forget. These are powerful words expressed this week, built on the deeds of those who defend the peace.
Yet in just a few weeks the nation goes to the polls because Boris Johnson’s minority Government wants a mandate for the UK to exit one of the world’s most successful and enduring peace projects: the EU.
What can voters in the Stirling parliamentary constituency do to stop this?
Firstly, please don’t let the Remain vote be split. Polls strongly suggest that voting tactically for Remain in the Stirling constituency means voting for the SNP, however distasteful some may find the prospect of an IndyRef2. But if you rejected independence in 2014, you can reject it again in an IndyRef2, should it come to that.
Secondly, other parties may feel that standing down in the Stirling constituency is the right thing to do at this election. This ‘realpolitik’ approach is happening across the nation with so-called ‘Remain Pacts’ between the Lib Dems, Greens and Plaid Cymru and it cannot rest of us and used the roads in a safe and proper manner. have escaped notice that the Brexit Party has entered into a ‘Unilateral Leave Alliance’ to try to help the Conservative Party retain their current 317 seats, including the supermarginal Stirling constituency seat, where the majority is only 148.
Make no mistake, this is the Brexit Election. While other matters do really matter, does anybody genuinely believe the economic damage of
Brexit will make us all, miraculously, more prosperous or conjure up a ‘magic money tree’ to bring an end to the Conservative’s 10-year policy of enforced austerity? The best deal available is the one we already have in the EU.
If voters want to avoid years more Brexit negotiations on our future political and trade relationships, with all the business uncertainty and the banging-on about Brexit in Parliament, in the media and in our homes, then please bring to an end the Brexit nightmare, starting with a tactical vote to Remain in the EU on December 12.
D Scott, Ogilvie Road Stirling Richard McKnight By email