News / Transport
Bristol to be trial city for bicycle number plates
Bristol has been chosen to be the UK’s trial city in an experiment which will see cyclists forced to attach number plates onto their bikes.
The trial follows calls from the motoring lobby who feel that car drivers have been treated unfairly for too long.
The theory goes that if drivers of motor vehicles are required to have number plates to drive on the road, destroying the walls of pubs as they career around corners at high speeds allegedly under the influence of drugs, then cyclists should have number plates too if they want to ride on the same roads.
“It takes us longer to make short journeys in a car than on a bike,” said a spokesperson for the pressure group Four Wheels Good, Two Wheels Bad (FWGTWB).
“Sometimes it would actually be faster to walk but many motorists still prefer to drive, and it is infuriating to see cyclists go past us with big smiles on their faces.”
The FWGTWB spokesperson said he is “delighted” at the announcement of the number plate trial in Bristol which will commence in the next few weeks.
New rules for cyclists will be in force on either side of Gaol Ferry Bridge – photo: Martin Booth
Proficiency tests will ensure whether children are fit and proper characters to ride their bikes on the public highway.
If they fail, their bicycles will be taken off them but they will be allowed to keep their stabilisers or any streamers attached to the handlebars or Spokey Dokes attached to the wheels.
Number plates will cost £50 per cyclist with a five per cent reduction for under-fives subsidised by the fines drivers have paid for driving through Bristol’s multiple bus gates.
A trial within a trial will see cyclists south of the river having to wear their number plates on the front of their helmets and cyclists north of the New Cut wearing triathlon-style race belts in order to display their number plates on their back.
Spot checks will be carried out on both sides of Gaol Ferry Bridge with cyclists not obeying the new rules being told to dismount, roll their right trouser leg out of their sock and continue their journey on foot.
Bicycles in Bristol will soon need number plates – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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