# Headteacher demands children cycling to school display number plates



## glasgowcyclist (15 Nov 2017)

The head of Beacon School in Banstead is insisting that children (11-18yrs) cycling to school must obtain a permit from the school, in the form of a number plate, to be displayed beneath the bike saddle. He's also threatening to lock up any bike belonging to a pupil who infringes his rules, releasing it only when a parent/carer collects it.

I think this guy is overstepping the mark on a grand scale. What worries me is that he refers to this approach being "highly effective" in other schools, which, if left unchallenged, is going to normalise the idea of restrictive legislation on a benign form of transport. It won't take long to be picked up by misguided campaigners and politicians who'd rather cycling wasn't as attractive as it currently is.

From road.cc:

_A letter dated November 13 states that from Monday December 11, all students of the academy school for 11-18 year olds, “will require a cycling permit in the form of a number plate.”

The permit is obtained and issued after students and parents/carers sign a cycling agreement. “The number plate must be attached to the student’s bicycle underneath the seat so that all students can be identified cycling to and from school.”_​(I know he also refers to needing to wear a helmet but please don't let that become the focus and drag the topic down to *that* dungeon. I'd rather discuss the legality and overall implications of allowing schools to dictate conditions for those using active travel to get to school.)


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## Rooster1 (15 Nov 2017)

If it results in less kids cycling in, then that is a shame.


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## Profpointy (15 Nov 2017)

what a donkey!

Wouldn't it be easier for all the kids to wear a big number on their back ?


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## Cycleops (15 Nov 2017)

Seems very odd introducing a measure like that. I wonder what prompted it. Why would they need to identify the students when cycling?


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## Profpointy (15 Nov 2017)

I suspect the head is simply anti-cycling. Probably a Daily-Mail reader.
I'm being perfectly serious by the way


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## User32269 (15 Nov 2017)

Would be a more effective policy to insist all the stressed parents taking there kids to school in cars undertake advanced driving training. Could then take the keys from anyone not displaying the sticker. 

If my kids cycled to his school I would show up with my angle grinder to get their bikes free from being locked up.


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## raleighnut (15 Nov 2017)

Profpointy said:


> I suspect the head is simply anti-cycling. Probably a Daily-Mail reader.
> I'm being perfectly serious by the way


He seems to think cycling is a 'recreational pursuit'.


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## DCLane (15 Nov 2017)

My 13yo is one of only two, in his school of 1800+, who cycles to school. The other cyclist rides 1/2 a mile each way whilst mine rides 6+ miles. 

This seems utterly stupid. However he appears to have brought the idea from his previous school, hence his 'evidence', which was at Glyn School.

Hmmm ... I'm off work ... do I send comments to: https://twitter.com/TheBeaconSch and https://twitter.com/batchelor1666 who I presume rides for Sky given the photo


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## dodgy (15 Nov 2017)

They're getting a shoeing on Twitter  @TheBeaconSch


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## dodgy (15 Nov 2017)

DCLane said:


> https://twitter.com/batchelor1666 who I presume rides for Sky given the photo



Been riding a few months and thinks he knows it all. He must be new to it, nobody I know would pose in Sky kit....


/ducks


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## jefmcg (15 Nov 2017)

Rooster1 said:


> If it results in less kids cycling in, then that is a shame.


How can it do otherwise?


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## DCLane (15 Nov 2017)

dodgy said:


> They're getting a shoeing on Twitter  @TheBeaconSch



Including from me


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## mjr (15 Nov 2017)

Get the schoolchildren used to wearing numbers now. It'll make it easier for our new reptilian overlords in future.


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## mjr (15 Nov 2017)

dodgy said:


> Been riding a few months and thinks he knows it all. He must be new to it, nobody I know would pose in Sky kit....
> 
> 
> /ducks


Had he been huffing a jiffy bag before writing that letter?


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## swansonj (15 Nov 2017)

The comprehensive my daughter went to have done this for ages. The stated purpose is so that local residents could report bad cycling and the offender could more easily be identified. I believe it may have been introduced by the last head but three who firmly believed, as part of his drive to improve behaviour, self-respect , and hence standards, that the school had a legitimate say over anything whatsoever that pupils did where the school was identifiable. He was known for hurtling into the local park well after school hours if he thought a group of pupils were behaving inappropriately. His personality was such that he got away with it. And it worked in that the standards and reputation of the school have not equalled his reign for twenty years since. 

So I haven't viewed a school insisting on number plates as necessarily quite so malign.


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## DRHysted (15 Nov 2017)

He is doing his job, but he is also overstepping his role. 
The head has a duty of care of all students traveling to and from school, how on earth they are supposed to do this is anyone’s guess, but if you know anyone who has worked in schools you’ll know they regularly need to preform the impossible whilst constantly being criticised. 

When I was in secondary school they brought in a registration system if you were using the bike shed, your legal guardian signed a form, a teacher checked your bike and then a numbered tag was fitted. Any bike without a tag was locked up until the end of the day when a letter was sent home with the offender. This was late 80s so no hi-vis or helmets nonsense, in fact at the time so many walked or cycled that driving at that time of day was nearly impossible because we took up the pavements and roads.


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## Cycleops (15 Nov 2017)

I wonder if George Orwell’s 1984 is on the reading list at The Beacon School.


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## Maenchi (15 Nov 2017)

I remember cycles in Portugal having number plates ,are there other countries that have them ?


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## raleighnut (15 Nov 2017)

Makes me glad I went to School in the 60s/70s (Apart from the hideous clothes we wore back then)


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## mjr (15 Nov 2017)

Maenchi said:


> I remember cycles in Portugal having number plates ,are there other countries that have them ?


Portugal doesn't any more. I think only Japan still does. More at http://ipayroadtax.com/licensed-to-cycle/licensed-to-cycle/


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## mjr (15 Nov 2017)

swansonj said:


> The comprehensive my daughter went to have done this for ages. The stated purpose is so that local residents could report bad cycling and the offender could more easily be identified.


And are those walking to school, waiting at school bus stops or being driven in cars also required to register and display identification numbers to, shall we say, concentrate their minds?

First they came for the cyclists... (yes, I know I'm overusing that this week)


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## srw (15 Nov 2017)

swansonj said:


> The comprehensive my daughter went to have done this for ages. The stated purpose is so that local residents could report bad cycling and the offender could more easily be identified. I believe it may have been introduced by the last head but three who firmly believed, as part of his drive to improve behaviour, self-respect , and hence standards, that the school had a legitimate say over anything whatsoever that pupils did where the school was identifiable. He was known for hurtling into the local park well after school hours if he thought a group of pupils were behaving inappropriately. His personality was such that he got away with it. And it worked in that the standards and reputation of the school have not equalled his reign for twenty years since.
> 
> So I haven't viewed a school insisting on number plates as necessarily quite so malign.


I suspect the truth is somewhere between your benign view and the entirely predictable accusatory responses from cyclists on social media and the road.cc website (some of which, frankly, are bonkers). 

It looks like a new, young, keen, impressionable headteacher doing that thing that far too many new appointees to leadership positions do, when they decide that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. Without really thinking about the consequences of SOMETHING, talking to someone about whether SOMETHING is a good idea or realising that SOMETHING could damage their reputation.

Add that to the idiocies of the Academy system (the school's website frontpage proudly invites you to visit and see "just how much we believe in, and promote, traditional British values of good manners, hard work, excellent behaviour and academic success") and you've got a recipe for someone putting a foot in it.

Incidentally, further in the website (under "promoting British Values" you discover the following:
*
"Individual Liberty*

Every individual at The Beacon School is encouraged to make the most of every opportunity in order to develop and thrive. We believe very strongly in providing the framework required to allow individual talents and abilities to flourish. This includes a tailored curriculum and extra-curricular activities, such as our wide-ranging Enrichment Programme and Duke of Edinburgh Scheme. Our School and House Councils also ensure our Student Voice is heard loud and clear with an opportunity for students to influence decision-making and effect real change. A clear framework of policy ensures our students are able to develop their abilities and appreciate the importance of informed decisions and the consequences of these actions."

Quite what the paragraph of glurge has to do with _individual liberty_ I'm not sure. And the subsequent paragraph illustrates the care with which they've thought about their responsibilities to facilitate diversity:
"Understanding *other faiths* and beliefs is fundamental to this and we provide many opportunities to develop this such as [...] visits to a local *Mosque*,"


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## slowmotion (15 Nov 2017)

mjr said:


> And are those walking to school, waiting at school bus stops or being driven in cars also required to register and display identification numbers to, shall we say, concentrate their minds?
> 
> First they came for the cyclists... (yes, I know I'm overusing that this week)


Good point. If the stated aim is to identify pupils misbehaving in school uniform, why have the cyclists been singled out?


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## Drago (15 Nov 2017)

Its none of his/her chuffing business if people ride to school. If he immobilised onenof my kids bikes I'd immobilise his car until it was released.


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## Bodhbh (15 Nov 2017)

What the world needs is more kids dropped off at the school gates one by one in 4x4s.


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## steveindenmark (15 Nov 2017)

Maenchi said:


> I remember cycles in Portugal having number plates ,are there other countries that have them ?


But they are not a requirement in the UK. Neither are vis vests or helmets. I like the idea he wants the children to be safe. But he cannot demand it and he certainly has not got the powers to lock someones bike up and refuse to give it to them.

On a voluntary basis I like his ideas but he sounds a bit power mad to me.


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## spen666 (15 Nov 2017)

do those pupils ( if any) who walk to school have to display number plates to enable them to be identified?

What about those who travel by bus? Do they need numberplates?

Why single out one part of society for this discrimination?

I know it is a reference to Godwin's Law, but didn't a chap over in Germany once insist on a particular group of people having to wear something to enable them to be easily identified? A number plate in the form of a yellow star?


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## Drago (15 Nov 2017)

swansonj said:


> The comprehensive my daughter went to have done this for ages. The stated purpose is so that local residents could report bad cycling and the offender could more easily be identified. I believe it may have been introduced by the last head but three who firmly believed, as part of his drive to improve behaviour, self-respect , and hence standards, that the school had a legitimate say over anything whatsoever that pupils did where the school was identifiable. He was known for hurtling into the local park well after school hours if he thought a group of pupils were behaving inappropriately. His personality was such that he got away with it. And it worked in that the standards and reputation of the school have not equalled his reign for twenty years since.
> 
> So I haven't viewed a school insisting on number plates as necessarily quite so malign.



Did the pedestrians walking to school never misbehave and require identifying?


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## Profpointy (15 Nov 2017)

Drago said:


> Did the pedestrians walking to school never misbehave and require identifying?



Only cyclists obviously. Don't you read the daily mail or listen to local radio phone-ins


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## Drago (15 Nov 2017)

That's where I've been going wrong!


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## mjr (15 Nov 2017)

Drago said:


> Did the pedestrians walking to school never misbehave and require identifying?


I started cycling to school partly because it was too far to walk and the alternative was basically the Bus of the Flies. The school always made the right noises about clamping down on the zoo that meant some villagers walked up a hill, along a parallel street and back down to avoid the bus stop, but never did much that seemed to work for long. To be fair, at least they didn't try to fark over those cycling or walking in.


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## Drago (15 Nov 2017)

I recall we had to have our bikes safety checked by the local copper, who'd solemnly attach a brass disc to the saddle rail to show it was roadworthy to ride to school.

The problem there is that once the bike earned its disc you could go through your entire school years without having it inspected again. The really enterprising simply switched the discs from bike to bike.


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## LeetleGreyCells (15 Nov 2017)

Have you seen this article? 

http://road.cc/content/news/232269-...y-cycle-school-if-they-fit-number-plate-their

I agree that all kids should be taught to cycle safely, but this is not the way to do it. In fact, this would put some kids off cycling for life which is a crying shame. 

Thank goodness my kids don’t go to that school.


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## glasgowcyclist (15 Nov 2017)

Already under discussion at https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/h...cling-to-school-display-number-plates.226624/


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## Laurentius (15 Nov 2017)

Back in the day when I first went to high school the rules were that you were not allowed to ride your bike there until you had passed your cycling proficiency test. No numberplates though.


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## LeetleGreyCells (15 Nov 2017)

Yes, I did a cycling proficiency test at school too.


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## summerdays (15 Nov 2017)

This isn't the way to encourage and promote cycling to school.... where are they encouraging cycling in their statements. Where are the bike breakfasts, Dr Bikes? Cycle club? and offering cycle training during the school timetable as a positive rather than what sounds like a punishment for bad cycling?

And what are they doing about pupils being dropped off at school with the parents parking on the pavement ? Are they clamping their cars to be collected at the end of the day?


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## Drago (15 Nov 2017)

You like to think schools would be too busy teaching kids useful stuff to have sufficoent time spare to victimise those who's parents are too poor or sensible to drive them to school.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (15 Nov 2017)

It's cockery


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## Lonestar (15 Nov 2017)

Thanks for notifying me of this the comments section is brilliant.


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## MichaelW2 (16 Nov 2017)

All children should require a permit. I think this is the logical conclusion of headmaster-thought.


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## BoldonLad (16 Nov 2017)

MichaelW2 said:


> All children should require a permit. I think this is the logical conclusion of headmaster-thought.



AND a machine readable barcode to uniquely identify each one.

Once all of the children (0-18) have been thus identified, the barcoding program should be extended to adults, in ten year bands (ie 19-29, 30-39... etc) until, eventually, everyone can be identified by barcode readers located at strategic positions throughout the country.


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## mjr (16 Nov 2017)

BoldonLad said:


> AND a machine readable barcode to uniquely identify each one.
> 
> Once all of the children (0-18) have been thus identified, the barcoding program should be extended to adults, in ten year bands (ie 19-29, 30-39... etc) until, eventually, everyone can be identified by barcode readers located at strategic positions throughout the country.


There used to be a Banksy in WsM with a caption along the lines of "Barcodes are beautiful until they're tattooed on your wrist". I wonder if @User remembers it and whether it was in the Madam Lane underpass that was filled in (because obstructing walking and cycling is cheaper than policing) or the next one west.


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## bonker (16 Nov 2017)

We had to buy number plates for our kids for them to be able to cycle to school. I think its more of a money raising/ bike shed security thing. 

A sadder fact is when my oldest kid started at our local secondary school, about 13 years ago, cycling was the default way of getting there and there were 100s of bikes in the bike sheds. By the time the youngest one left ( 2 years ago) hardly any kids cycled. The routes to the school are now all 4x4 car parks in the morning.

I don't think the number plates stopped kids cycling it's parental/social attitudes.


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## Mile195 (16 Nov 2017)

If it prevents kids from cycling to school that's a shame. But for the kids themselves, I suppose it means that the bike sheds can go back to being used what they're supposed to be for... In my day that was smoking cigarettes you'd nicked off your dad...


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## BoldonLad (16 Nov 2017)

Mile195 said:


> I suppose it means that the bike sheds can go back to being used what they're supposed to be for... In my day that was smoking cigarettes you'd nicked off your dad...



and, no doubt, behind the bike sheds remain for various nefarious users?


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## Julia9054 (16 Nov 2017)

BoldonLad said:


> and, no doubt, behind the bike sheds remain for various nefarious users?


Our bike sheds have cctv trained on them. Behind the bike sheds are the windows I to the staff room!


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## Drago (16 Nov 2017)

One of the last crimes I dealt with before retirement was a comedy job where a would be cycle thief fell through the asbestos roof of a bike shed, all on CCTV. T'was worthy of Frank Spencer.


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## MartyBenji (16 Nov 2017)

Does the cycling proficiency test still exist?


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## mustang1 (16 Nov 2017)

summerdays said:


> This isn't the way to encourage and promote cycling to school.... where are they encouraging cycling in their statements. Where are the bike breakfasts, Dr Bikes? Cycle club? and offering cycle training during the school timetable as a positive rather than what sounds like a punishment for bad cycling?
> 
> And what are they doing about pupils being dropped off at school with the parents parking on the pavement ? Are they clamping their cars to be collected at the end of the day?



A school near me where parents park on the sidewalk so far in that there is no space left on the sidewalk to squeeze by. I just walk in the road. There is a line of cars following right up next to me. 

It's ok, they can wait.


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## summerdays (16 Nov 2017)

mustang1 said:


> A school near me where parents park on the sidewalk so far in that there is no space left on the sidewalk to squeeze by. I just walk in the road. There is a line of cars following right up next to me.
> 
> It's ok, they can wait.


I've been known to stand in the middle of a road blocking it whilst escorting my kids around a car blocking the pavement. Or if the driver was sitting in the car, remind the kids to "not scratch it with their bikes like the last time"

But actually the local police did used to actively ticket cars that were blocking the path and even tow some away.


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## mustang1 (16 Nov 2017)

summerdays said:


> I've been known to stand in the middle of a road blocking it whilst escorting my kids around a car blocking the pavement. Or if the driver was sitting in the car, *remind the kids to "not scratch it with their bikes like the last time"*
> 
> But actually the local police did used to actively ticket cars that were blocking the path and even tow some away.



That's superb!
Idk for sure, but I think there are local laws that allow drivers to park cars on sidewalk in some places.


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## summerdays (16 Nov 2017)

mustang1 said:


> That's superb!
> Idk for sure, but I think there are local laws that allow drivers to park cars on sidewalk in some places.


They can certainly be ticketed in Bristol for blocking the pavement, though they don't bother if people can get past on the pavement.


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## Ming the Merciless (16 Nov 2017)

summerdays said:


> They can certainly be ticketed in Bristol for blocking the pavement, though they don't bother if people can get past on the pavement.



It is againat the law to drive on the pavement, same law that applies to cycling on the pavement.


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## Laurentius (16 Nov 2017)

MartyBenji said:


> Does the cycling proficiency test still exist?


 I dunno, but my "stiffycate" was signed off by the dook of Edinburgh himself (rubber stamp probably) and he is still kicking, just about.


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## Drago (17 Nov 2017)

Its is an offence to drive a motor vehicle other than on a highway, but the prosecution threshold the CPS use is 25 metres.


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## Drago (17 Nov 2017)

That's why the CPS use a 25 metre threshold for prosecution, as aforementioned by my good self.


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## mjr (22 Nov 2017)

MartyBenji said:


> Does the cycling proficiency test still exist?


Not exactly. Replaced by Bikeability


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## atbman (22 Nov 2017)

Mile195 said:


> If it prevents kids from cycling to school that's a shame. But for the kids themselves, I suppose it means that the bike sheds can go back to being used what they're supposed to be for... In my day that was smoking cigarettes you'd nicked off your dad...



I learned to ride a bike behind the tobaconists


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## glasgowcyclist (6 Dec 2017)

atbman said:


> I learned to ride a bike behind the tobaconists



What if they headed off in a direction you didn't want to go?


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## oldfatfool (6 Dec 2017)

Laurentius said:


> Back in the day when I first went to high school the rules were that you were not allowed to ride your bike there until you had passed your cycling proficiency test. No numberplates though.


I wasnt allowed to do my cycling proficiency as on the day it occurred my road bike was away and the cycle speedway bike sans brakes that was available was deemed unsafe


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## byegad (6 Dec 2017)

summerdays said:


> I've been known to stand in the middle of a road blocking it whilst escorting my kids around a car blocking the pavement. Or if the driver was sitting in the car, remind the kids to "not scratch it with their bikes like the last time"
> 
> But actually the local police did used to actively ticket cars that were blocking the path and even tow some away.



I carry my house keys on a clip on my belt. It would be an awful shame if, squeezing by, the car was scratched. I'll try to remember not to do that, but my memories these days...


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## NickNick (6 Dec 2017)

mjr said:


> Portugal doesn't any more. I think only Japan still does. More at http://ipayroadtax.com/licensed-to-cycle/licensed-to-cycle/



That's an interesting site, don't know how it had passed me by that UKIP had such a load of rediculous authoritarian anti-cycling policies.


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