The point is to discourage people travelling by car where possible. Cycling should be encouraged as it not only is emission free but has a secondary benefit down the line of people putting less pressure on the NHS. Bullshit like insurance for cyclists is something that will unnecesarily put people off buying a bike and using that as their main method of transport. Cars need to be insured because the accidents they cause result in thousands of pounds of damage wheras bikes do not.
I say this as both a driver and a cyclist, car drivers need to stop acting as if they own the road and drive with a little more consideration.
THIS in a nutshell. I'm a cyclist, van driver, pedestrian & scooterist......in that order.
I know I know....there are dickhead cyclists too, but a lot of their behavior stems from the primary problem which is that, since the 1970s, we have designed the whole of modern life around the premise that car is king, to the point whereby
cunts people think nothing of
buying renting a massive SUV in order to drive less than 1/2 a mile to the shops or to drop their kids off at school......
....if I had my way, I'd force change upon everybody overnight by coning off a 3m wide section of every A & B road in the country & allocate it to bikes, scooters, skateboards, hoverboards, rollerskates, segways, etc.
Pedestrians get their pavcement back, all of a sudden there is a free, healthy quicker fun transport alternative & motorists can sit in the traffice queue & moan about traffice queues just like they do already......