Cycling on the pavement not to be prosecuted
Discussion
Brads67 said:
It`s never been illegal to cycle on a pavement anyway.
In Scotland anyway .
I had this fight with an old git a few years ago. He literally blocked me from passing in a full on Monty Python style and starting have a very loud rant about cycling on paths. Most of it I couldn't make out but he said "police" a lot so I asked him to come to the station with me, it wasn't far away, but that seemed to make matters worse and he took a swing at me. I think I met the street crazy bloke.In Scotland anyway .
Agreed, changes to the law are pointless without enforcement, and the police seem to have given up on policing the roads years ago.
Allowing cycling on the pavements in London just seems like a sad reflection of the fact that many roads are not safe to cycle on, as of course is increasingly the case in much of the rest of this country.
Allowing cycling on the pavements in London just seems like a sad reflection of the fact that many roads are not safe to cycle on, as of course is increasingly the case in much of the rest of this country.
Ever since been a kid I would cycle on pavements if I felt it was safer than on the main road.
Today is no different. I value and choose to protect my own life over obeying some law, if I feel like I've got better odds of not getting hurt on the pavement then thats where I am.
On the other hand I was taught manners and to consider other people, so you move out of the way of pedestrians and keep your speed low.
Am i in the wrong? I really don't care, if the police have the time to even speak to someone riding a bike courteously on the pavement then they need a budget cut in their area cause crime must be at record lows.
Today is no different. I value and choose to protect my own life over obeying some law, if I feel like I've got better odds of not getting hurt on the pavement then thats where I am.
On the other hand I was taught manners and to consider other people, so you move out of the way of pedestrians and keep your speed low.
Am i in the wrong? I really don't care, if the police have the time to even speak to someone riding a bike courteously on the pavement then they need a budget cut in their area cause crime must be at record lows.
I'm thoroughly pro-cycling, but if this becomes non-illegal as opposed to legal, I won't hesitate to knock them over if they are inconsiderate.
If they also happen to be staring at their mobile device, I shall rip out their inner tubes (assuming they're not running tubs
), wrap them around their neck and hang them from a lamppost!
. . . central London!
If they also happen to be staring at their mobile device, I shall rip out their inner tubes (assuming they're not running tubs
), wrap them around their neck and hang them from a lamppost! . . . central London!
We had the opposite in Woking.
Guide Dogs for the Blind are one of those charities with more money than they know what to do with, which leads to ever-increasing mission creep until they turn into a lunatic political organisation. Anyway, they convinced the usual muppets in local government that it was terrifying having cyclists on pedestrianised streets, by blindfolding said councillors, and have people cycle by at high speed. This was obviously terrifying for people who don't usually do more than submit expense claims for their 1.5 mile journey from home to the council chambers.
The outcome of this bit of lobbying was a 10am to 4pm cycling ban, except that didn't quite happen for several years because it was a bonkers idea that the government hadn't approved a sign for. Eventually they got approval for said sign, but people ignore it, because it's f
king stupid, but the council have claimed they will start enforcement action against cyclists flouting the rules. They can't issue fixed penalties so it would have to be full on prosecutions.
So you can't cycle down a full-width two-lane pedestrianised road, but at the same time you can cycle on a 2m pavement......
Guide Dogs for the Blind are one of those charities with more money than they know what to do with, which leads to ever-increasing mission creep until they turn into a lunatic political organisation. Anyway, they convinced the usual muppets in local government that it was terrifying having cyclists on pedestrianised streets, by blindfolding said councillors, and have people cycle by at high speed. This was obviously terrifying for people who don't usually do more than submit expense claims for their 1.5 mile journey from home to the council chambers.
The outcome of this bit of lobbying was a 10am to 4pm cycling ban, except that didn't quite happen for several years because it was a bonkers idea that the government hadn't approved a sign for. Eventually they got approval for said sign, but people ignore it, because it's f
king stupid, but the council have claimed they will start enforcement action against cyclists flouting the rules. They can't issue fixed penalties so it would have to be full on prosecutions.So you can't cycle down a full-width two-lane pedestrianised road, but at the same time you can cycle on a 2m pavement......
benjijames28 said:
Ever since been a kid I would cycle on pavements if I felt it was safer than on the main road.
Today is no different. I value and choose to protect my own life over obeying some law, if I feel like I've got better odds of not getting hurt on the pavement then thats where I am.
On the other hand I was taught manners and to consider other people, so you move out of the way of pedestrians and keep your speed low.
Am i in the wrong? I really don't care, if the police have the time to even speak to someone riding a bike courteously on the pavement then they need a budget cut in their area cause crime must be at record lows.
Exactly this. I was born in '72, and when I was a kid and a teenager, growing up in South London, before I got my first motorbike at 16, I remember happily cycling on pavements all the time, and no-one ever got the hump about it - and to suggest that it might be a Police matter, back then, would have been laughable.Today is no different. I value and choose to protect my own life over obeying some law, if I feel like I've got better odds of not getting hurt on the pavement then thats where I am.
On the other hand I was taught manners and to consider other people, so you move out of the way of pedestrians and keep your speed low.
Am i in the wrong? I really don't care, if the police have the time to even speak to someone riding a bike courteously on the pavement then they need a budget cut in their area cause crime must be at record lows.
Suddenly nowadays it's become a massive big deal, and I am not quite sure why?! The only thing I can think of, and I will concede, is that we do have a new breed of militant cyclists who want to ride modern bikes at high speed, and think that they're God's gift or something. Back in my day, bicycles were not that fast, so maybe it is a 'modern problem,' I dunno!
The roads have sure become a different environment for cyclists though, that's for sure. I have been riding a mountain bike on and off on the South coast for the last 20-odd years, with 99% of my riding being off-road. A few years back, I decided to buy a road bike, as I fancied a change.
After my first few outings on the roads, both main roads and small local roads, one thing that became immediately clear is that it felt f
king dangerous! Many motorists made me become in fear of my life with their manner of driving and disregard for my safety - so much so that according to the cycle computer I had fitted to my new roadbike, I did around 300 miles on the roads before I gave it up as a bad idea.The bike has been hanging, unused, in my garage ever since.
So, I see what they mean!
Blaster72 said:
It is around my way. Ever since the Olympics the local roads have been infested with selfish lycra clad lunatics so obsessed with beating some sort of imaginary time trial (aka Strava) that they slow for nothing and take incredible risks.
This. I've certainly seen evidence of the imaginary time trials using Strava. I also know how addictive that can be as I often do the same when running (parks and canals). Different ball game however when on the roadsambuletz said:
battered said:
PositronicRay said:
Bikes should all have bells.
For all cyclists not equipped with a voice, you mean?I never mind a polite bell, or an excuse me, I thank the cyclist for the warning. It's ones bearing down on you, going hell for leather, shouting "get out of the f***ing way" that I object to.
The Spruce goose said:
On my commute there are loads of cycle paths but the road racers still use the road, even the fat ones.
I'm all for using cycle paths where I can. But a lot of them in town are covered in glass and chavs, very bumpy (on road wheels), interspersed with side roads you have to give way to every 50 yards and in some cases turn into a verge with no means of getting back on the road properly. Ultimately many are just the council's way of half-heartedly using up their budget, so in those cases I'll stick to the road (and I'm not even fat).VeeFource said:
I'm all for using cycle paths where I can. But a lot of them in town are covered in glass and chavs, very bumpy (on road wheels), interspersed with side roads you have to give way to every 50 yards and in some cases turn into a verge with no means of getting back on the road properly. Ultimately many are just the council's way of half-heartedly using up their budget, so in those cases I'll stick to the road (and I'm not even fat).
They should just rip out cycle paths in the UK. Majority of cyclists prefer the road or pavement.sparks_E39 said:
but a lot of them would do well to take better care of themselves and be a little more conscious of what's going on around them.
Whoa, they already are taking better care of themselves, and of the environment, by cycling. When we pass by in our cars we are not taking care of ourselves (in that moment in time) and we are definitely harming the environment.DoubleD said:
I dont wear a helmet.....but your argument is flawed. A helmet could help you walk away from an accident, where as not wearing a helmet could leave you in a vegative state after an accident.
And that applies to absolutely everybody. Pedestrians and car occupants are just as likely to suffer a head injury:>>Does cycling cause many head injuries?
But let’s not pretend that no injuries happen. The question is, is cycling unusually likely to cause a head injury?
I analysed Department of Health hospital admissions for children and adults over a period of seven years. What I found was:
The proportion of admissions which are for head injury is slightly higher for pedestrians than for cyclists
This applies to both adults and children
Half of all child head injury admissions are due to trips and falls
Nearly five times as many child pedestrians as child cyclists are admitted
Well under half of child cyclist admissions are for head injury
Well under one third of adult cyclist admissions are for head injury
You can slice and dice the figures a number of ways, but whatever you do the conclusion is much the same: it is extraordinarily hard to find any actual data which suggests that cycling is unusually dangerous, or unusually likely to cause head injury.
Which is, of course, very reassuring for us cyclists!<<
http://www.nohelmetlaw.org.uk/commentary/cycling-h...
>>Causes
• Road Traffic Accidents account for 50% of all traumatic brain injuries. This includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians hit by vehicles.
• The leading causes of traumatic brain injuries vary by age: falls are the leading cause among persons aged 65 years and older; transportation is the leading cause among persons under the age of 65 years.
• Estimates suggest that sports related brain injury accounts for close to 300,000 injuries each year, with winter sports such as skiing and ice-skating accounting for close to 20,000 brain injuries.
• Assaults are another common cause.<<
http://ukabif.org.uk/data/
>>How common are head injuries?
Each year around 700,000 people attend A&E departments with a head injury in England and Wales. Of these, more than 80% only have a minor injury.
The most common causes of head injuries are falls, assaults, and road traffic collisions.
Children are more likely to sustain a minor head injury because they're very active.<<
Causes[edit]
Common causes of head injury are motor vehicle traffic collisions, home and occupational accidents, falls, and assaults.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_injury
There were approximately 956 ABI admissions per day to UK hospitals in 2013-14 - or one every 90 seconds.
(ABI = Acquired Brain Injury)
In 2013-14, there were 162,544 admissions for head injury. That equates to 445 every day, or one every three minutes.
https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/furt...
---
I agree re bells, every bike should have one, they are extremely effective for something that costs nothing. We could easily have strict liability for cycling on the pavement, in any collision between cyclist and pedestrian the cyclist is deemed automatically at fault if there is no bell.
Shouting at people will just piss them off.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Exactly this. I was born in '72, and when I was a kid and a teenager, growing up in South London, before I got my first motorbike at 16, I remember happily cycling on pavements all the time, and no-one ever got the hump about it - and to suggest that it might be a Police matter, back then, would have been laughable.
Suddenly nowadays it's become a massive big deal, and I am not quite sure why?! The only thing I can think of, and I will concede, is that we do have a new breed of militant cyclists who want to ride modern bikes at high speed, and think that they're God's gift or something. Back in my day, bicycles were not that fast, so maybe it is a 'modern problem,' I dunno!
The roads have sure become a different environment for cyclists though, that's for sure. I have been riding a mountain bike on and off on the South coast for the last 20-odd years, with 99% of my riding being off-road. A few years back, I decided to buy a road bike, as I fancied a change.
After my first few outings on the roads, both main roads and small local roads, one thing that became immediately clear is that it felt fking dangerous! Many motorists made me become in fear of my life with their manner of driving and disregard for my safety - so much so that according to the cycle computer I had fitted to my new roadbike, I did around 300 miles on the roads before I gave it up as a bad idea.
The bike has been hanging, unused, in my garage ever since.
So, I see what they mean!
It's probably just a simple function of there being significantly more horrible, self-centred scrotes in society in cars trying to scare cyclists, on bikes being self riteous, on pavements, sSuddenly nowadays it's become a massive big deal, and I am not quite sure why?! The only thing I can think of, and I will concede, is that we do have a new breed of militant cyclists who want to ride modern bikes at high speed, and think that they're God's gift or something. Back in my day, bicycles were not that fast, so maybe it is a 'modern problem,' I dunno!
The roads have sure become a different environment for cyclists though, that's for sure. I have been riding a mountain bike on and off on the South coast for the last 20-odd years, with 99% of my riding being off-road. A few years back, I decided to buy a road bike, as I fancied a change.
After my first few outings on the roads, both main roads and small local roads, one thing that became immediately clear is that it felt f
king dangerous! Many motorists made me become in fear of my life with their manner of driving and disregard for my safety - so much so that according to the cycle computer I had fitted to my new roadbike, I did around 300 miles on the roads before I gave it up as a bad idea.The bike has been hanging, unused, in my garage ever since.
So, I see what they mean!
tting themselves. It's the inexorable rise of the 'mememe' who thinks he is someone special and their bedfellow, the 'downtrodden' man who is angry because his life isn't as amazing as he was told it would be. The problem with allowing modern Britons to cycle on pavements is that a significant number will do so dangerously and inconsiderately of others while a significant number of pedestrians will be incandescent at the hideous invasion.
Another point is that parking of cars on pavements being so prevalent, which means the driving of cars on pavements being so prevalent (as well as illegal) it means that every single person who complains about cycling on pavements will have driven on a pavement at some point (and may well have caused damage to the pavement).
deltashad said:
They should just rip out cycle paths in the UK. Majority of cyclists prefer the road or pavement.
My short commute takes me via the local college/uni for which our local council spent £100'sK putting in cycle routes, specific lanes etc etcEvery morning, and I mean every day, I see the same cyclists riding on the dual carriageway rather than the adjacent cycle paths installed for them. They only choose to use them when they hit red lights to bypass traffic and then cycle across the pedestrian crossings to jump the lights. Then straight back on the road to hold up the queueing traffic they'd held up for half a mile before the lights.
If I leave a little later I see the same cyclists with a mile long queue behind them as the dual carriageway morphs into a NSL rural A road with little opportunity to pass. Again, despite a very nice leafy cycle path system put in place.
Not saying everyones like this but the few who do really don't do the image of cycling any favours.
DoubleD said:
Willy Nilly said:
sparks_E39 said:
ambuletz said:
i think cycling on the pavement or in town centres is fine if you're basically riding very slow trying to get to somewhere. cycling on it at commuting speed with the idea of using it as a shortcut probably isnt.
I agree. I however think cycling without a helmet should be illegal, and all cycles should be fitted with lights front and rear as standard. I have nothing against cyclists, I used to work for a very popular cycling events company, but a lot of them would do well to take better care of themselves and be a little more conscious of what's going on around them. I have also passed more driving tests than many.
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