Speeding push bikes?

[moreflaps]

If the press are to be believed we will see a lot more 20 mph zones in towns/cities. I wonder, will the police be as keen to prosecute speeding bicyclists as cars? Given their ability to flaunt all sorts of highway code rules, I wonder is the green peddling brigade about to get its come uppance? (OK I'm dreaming again)

Cheers

[14-7]

moreflaps said:

If the press are to be believed we will see a lot more 20 mph zones in towns/cities. I wonder, will the police be as keen to prosecute speeding bicyclists as cars? Given their ability to flaunt all sorts of highway code rules, I wonder is the green peddling brigade about to get its come upence? (OK I'm dreaming again)

Cheers

There is no speed limit for bicycles.

[moreflaps]

14-7 said:

There is no speed limit for bicycles.

Are you sure? The wording says traffic e.g. "The 30 mph limit usually applies to all traffic on all roads with street lighting unless signs show otherwise". Just 'cos a bike is not specifically mentioned does not mean it is exempt I would say... Put another way, as a road user is the cyclist not obliged to obey traffic signage? Methinks we need legislation to have speedometers on bikes if they are all speeding... LOL

Edited by moreflaps on Friday 30th September 17:36

[Dirty Frank]

14-7 said:

There is no speed limit for bicycles.

Are you sure? pretty sure I saw a guy on road wars get done for speeding on his bicycle.

[walm]

How exactly are cyclists supposed to know they are speeding?

I believe the lack of a calibrated speedo exempts them...

[moreflaps]

Dirty Frank said:

Are you sure? pretty sure I saw a guy on road wars get done for speeding on his bicycle.

Well I think the code says: "You MUST NOT exceed the maximum speed limits for the road and for your vehicle (see the table above). The presence of street lights generally means that there is a 30 mph (48 km/h) speed limit unless otherwise specified.
[Law RTRA sects 81, 86, 89 & sch 6]". A bike is a vehicle in law... Why not prosecute all speeding bikes?

[moreflaps]

walm said:

How exactly are cyclists supposed to know they are speeding?

I believe the lack of a calibrated speedo exempts them...

I don't think so as ignorance is not a defense in law -right?

[Engineer1]

Or think about it this way older cars can have no seatbelts legally so you can't be done for not wearing a seatbelt if there isn't a legal requirement for one to be fitted. Now if you make cycle speedos a requirement of sale then you can punish people for not sticking to the speed limit, however you would still have people legally riding on pre legislation bikes that wouldn't have speedos. Generally it is fking difficult to get over 30mph on a bike on the flat and if you are doing 30+ in a residential area you will probably stand out

[walm]

moreflaps said:

walm said:

How exactly are cyclists supposed to know they are speeding?

I believe the lack of a calibrated speedo exempts them...

I don't think so as ignorance is not a defense in law -right?

Ah - you might be right - from the looks of the fourth page on this forum one guy highlights plenty of motor driven vehicles that don't HAVE to have a speedo but where of course they can't exceed limits.
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14...

In any case, if they still apply 10%+2 then 24mph on the flat is going some.
I guess downhill though it would be easy enough, though.

Nevertheless, given the flack that bibs get for targeting speeding MOTORISTS let alone CYCLISTS and the inherent lower danger from 10kgs of speeding bike versus 1,000kgs+ of speeding car I would imagine it won't be a high priority.

Speed cameras are going to struggle too.

[rs1952]

14-7 said:

moreflaps said:

If the press are to be believed we will see a lot more 20 mph zones in towns/cities. I wonder, will the police be as keen to prosecute speeding bicyclists as cars? Given their ability to flaunt all sorts of highway code rules, I wonder is the green peddling brigade about to get its come upence? (OK I'm dreaming again)

Cheers

There is no speed limit for bicycles.

Christ - how many more times are we going to do this?

Speed limits per se do not apply to cycles. Full stop. End of thread. There is an offence of "wanton and furious cycling" which, if you like, is the cycling equivalent of DWDCA. But once again, speed limits do not apply to bikes.

If you don't like it, either lobby for the law to be changed or, better still, get a bike and enjoy the freedom from speed limits

[14-7]

moreflaps said:

Well I think the code says: "You MUST NOT exceed the maximum speed limits for the road and for your vehicle (see the table above). The presence of street lights generally means that there is a 30 mph (48 km/h) speed limit unless otherwise specified.
[Law RTRA sects 81, 86, 89 & sch 6]". A bike is a vehicle in law... Why not prosecute all speeding bikes?

No they aren't. Have you actually read the relevant sections?

I would guess not. A bicycle is not classed as a motor vehicle under road traffic law and as of now no speed limits exist in law for them. The only time a bicycle is classed as a vehicle is when it is involved in a collision and even then it is purely for statistical purposes.

There are no speed limit laws in place for bicycles.

[CommanderJameson]

moreflaps said:

If the press are to be believed we will see a lot more 20 mph zones in towns/cities. I wonder, will the police be as keen to prosecute speeding bicyclists as cars? Given their ability to flaunt all sorts of highway code rules, I wonder is the green peddling brigade about to get its come uppance? (OK I'm dreaming again)

Cheers

nnngh

Flaunt/flout

Hulk SMASH!!

[RV8]

So normally you lot moan they hold you up now you are saying they go too fast. You lot are like a bunch of old women, never happy unless you have something to grumble about.

[14-7]

RV8 said:

So normally you lot moan they hold you up now you are saying they go too fast. You lot are like a bunch of old women, never happy unless you have something to grumble about.

I assume you are a pushbiker?

No one is whinging, apart from the OP, who doesn't realise that speed limits don't exist for pushbikes.

Personally I give them as much room as possible. Not only for their own safety (I wouldn't want a car within 1-2 foot of me when on a bike) but also because so many are erratic swerving around bumps, potholes, drains, on their phone, playing with MP3 player etc.

[GTIR]

I had a word with a cyclist (Lycra clad 50yo) who overtook me on the inside in a 30mph limit (down hill) as I was behind a slower car.
I just said the reason why the slower car we'd been stuck behind swerved dramatically when he went past was because he/she didn't know he (the cyclist) was there and the reason why I was part over the middle white line was because I knew he was coming up the inside and not because "you left a gap and I thought you were going to overtake".

Also while we are on this subject. Why do they do cycle time trials on the A14/A11?

fk off and use a velodrome! (or however it's spelt)

[blueg33]

Here is a good summary

Road Traffic Law Expert said:

Speed Limits

Do speed limits apply to bicycles?

Short Answer

Mostly no, though there are some places (like Royal Parks) where bye-laws might impose speed limits on cyclists.

Long Answer

Normal Roads

On 'normal' public highways, the general speed limits (whatever they are) do not apply to bicycles.

Note that the Highway Code rule 124 states speed limits are in the table, but the table has no row that applies to bicycles. There is a bit of a fault in that a footnote to the table does indeed state that "The 30 mph limit usually applies to all traffic" (my emphasis), but that appears to be a wrong statement (there are a few such careless statements in the Highway Code).

The Highway code references RTRA, which is the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, sections 81, 86, 89 & schedule 6. In fact, these sections all fall within Part VI of the act, which is entirely about speed limits.

The first thing to note is that the Highway Code blanket statement is wrong - section 81 is quite explicit that "It shall not be lawful for a person to drive a motor vehicle on a restricted road at a speed exceeding 30 miles per hour" (my emphasis).

Further reading reveals that throughout this act, the speed limits discussed apply to motor vehicles and their drivers, not to cyclists. Note, for example section 89: "A person who drives a motor vehicle on a road at a speed exceeding a limit imposed by or under any enactment to which this section applies shall be guilty of an offence."

Theoretical possibilities

It should be noted that it seems there is a theoretical possibility for a speed limit to be imposed on cyclists. Although the 'standard' way for speed limits is via the RTRA noted above, TSRGD 2002, The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 allows for speed limits to be imposed by local acts (here).

In principle, a local act might create a speed limit that applied to cyclists. However, it's very unlikely, and I've never seen a reference to one that does. Further, the act would have to define the offence and penalty - it could not simply refer back to the RTRA, because the offence created in that act (section 89, quoted above) explicitly applies to the drivers of motor vehicles. So, it would be possible for a road to have a speed limit created by local act that applied to cyclists, but it's very unlikely, and even if it did, it is further unlikely that there would be an offence committed in breaking the speed limit.

Official Advice

Another interesting snippet arises from a Department for Transport consultation document that never turned into anything other than a consultation. The 2004 Local Transport Notes on Walking and Cycling document had an annex D Code of Conduct Notice for Cyclists which recommends "As a general rule, if you want to cycle quickly, say in excess of 18 mph/30 kph, then you should be riding on the road."

But...

However, despite the fact that speed limits do not apply to bicycles, you can be prosecuted simply for cycling too fast - under the charge of 'cycling furiously'. You can also be prosecuted for riding dangerously o carelessly.

Special Cases

It is possible for locations to have bye-laws that impose speed limits on Bicycles. For example, a limit of 8mph on Hampstead Heath and 20 mph for all vehicles in Richmond park.

Some of the parks rules are set out in statutory instrument The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997 amended by Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces (Amendment) Regulations 2004.

[Cherrybusa]

Many years (1972) ago I worked with a cycle racer, who overtook a police car in a 30 limit in excess of 40mph. He was prosecuted under an old law 'pedalling furiously' and fined - does this law still exist?

[rs1952]

Cherrybusa said:

Many years (1972) ago I worked with a cycle racer, who overtook a police car in a 30 limit in excess of 40mph. He was prosecuted under an old law 'pedalling furiously' and fined - does this law still exist?

Read my post, 8 up

[Johnnytheboy]

Happy memories return to me of a load of angry web cyclists - some I could identify as ones with a bee in their bonnet about speeding drivers - on one of their forums getting really heated about some kind of 20mph bike speed limit in Richmond Park.

What was funny was that their counter arguments were identical to the ones drivers on sites like PH use against arbitrary speed limits, and yet me pointing out this irony didn't seem to register at all, because "cars weigh more".

[RV8]

14-7 said:

I assume you are a pushbiker?

No one is whinging, apart from the OP, who doesn't realise that speed limits don't exist for pushbikes.

Personally I give them as much room as possible. Not only for their own safety (I wouldn't want a car within 1-2 foot of me when on a bike) but also because so many are erratic swerving around bumps, potholes, drains, on their phone, playing with MP3 player etc.

I mean the anti bike brigade rather than specific posters in the thread. No offense though, you want to give more than 1-2 foot, if they swerve around a drain 'erratically' while you overtake that would be about your 1-2 foot gone right there.