Scamera operater fined for blocking a cycle lane....

[jesusbuiltmycar]

http://road.cc/content/news/170561-police-officer-...


I didn't know that blocking a cycle lane is an offence - pity it isn't enforced more vigorously!

[14-7]

The story first states the officer was given a fixed penalty. The next says management advice.

Not only is the story crap but I presume you haven't even read it fully?

Parking in a cycle lane isn't an offence but blocking the pavement is just a simple obstruction of the highway.

Another excuse to slate the police whether or not the story is accurate.

[Vroom101]

14-7 said:

The story first states the officer was given a fixed penalty. The next says management advice.

I read it as the camera operator got the fine and management advice (management advice = right bxllxcking from their supervisor)

This isn't the first time one of these vans has parked in a dodgy place, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but at least this one was dealt with accordingly.

[Puddenchucker]

14-7 said:

Parking in a cycle lane isn't an offence..

I believe that depends upon whether the cycle lane is defined by solid or broken white line,
i.e. it is an offence if a solid line.

[speedking31]

article said:

He said police officers are not exempt from road and parking rules and as such the officer was treated in the same way as a member of public

Why do we keep getting told that police are exempt from parking restrictions while undertaking police duties? Frequently see camera vans parked on verges, central reservations, pavements on bridges, etc.

article said:

Motorists caught speeding can be fined £60.

Wrong. Fine is £100.

[Silver Smudger]

Vroom101 said:

14-7 said:

The story first states the officer was given a fixed penalty. The next says management advice.

I read it as the camera operator got the fine and management advice (management advice = right bxllxcking from their supervisor)

This isn't the first time one of these vans has parked in a dodgy place, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but at least this one was dealt with accordingly.

Gloucester Citizen said:

it has now been revealed through a Freedom of Information request that the police officer who parked the van has been fined and given "management advice" by the Gloucestershire force.

Robert Vestey from the Camera Enforcement Unit at Gloucestershire Constabulary said they had taken the incident seriously.

"We do not condone such actions and we hope that the fixed penalty notice and management advice shows that this has been taken seriously," he said.

"A member of the police workforce is not exempt from following road and parking rules, which is why the individual has been treated as any member of the public would be."

Read more: http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Police-officer-...
Follow us: @GlosCitizen on Twitter | GlosCitizen on Facebook

[HantsRat]

Photo is on this page... http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Police-officer-...

It's not an offence to park in the cycle lane as the lines are seperated. I would imagine it was a 'Causing unnecessary obstruction' offence. Either way, ridiculous place to park.

[tapereel]

Silver Smudger said:

Vroom101 said:

14-7 said:

The story first states the officer was given a fixed penalty. The next says management advice.

I read it as the camera operator got the fine and management advice (management advice = right bxllxcking from their supervisor)

This isn't the first time one of these vans has parked in a dodgy place, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but at least this one was dealt with accordingly.

Gloucester Citizen said:

it has now been revealed through a Freedom of Information request that the police officer who parked the van has been fined and given "management advice" by the Gloucestershire force.

Robert Vestey from the Camera Enforcement Unit at Gloucestershire Constabulary said they had taken the incident seriously.

"We do not condone such actions and we hope that the fixed penalty notice and management advice shows that this has been taken seriously," he said.

"A member of the police workforce is not exempt from following road and parking rules, which is why the individual has been treated as any member of the public would be."

Read more: http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Police-officer-...
Follow us: @GlosCitizen on Twitter | GlosCitizen on Facebook

Well they are exempt from some of them so that isn't completely correct.

It wasn't a justifiable place to park I agree.

[hornetrider]

For me that is less about blocking the cycle lane and more about it completely and utterly blocking the pavement, on what looks to be a dangerous road for pedestrians.

[tapereel]

hornetrider said:

For me that is less about blocking the cycle lane and more about it completely and utterly blocking the pavement, on what looks to be a dangerous road for pedestrians.

Aye

[funkyrobot]

hornetrider said:

For me that is less about blocking the cycle lane and more about it completely and utterly blocking the pavement, on what looks to be a dangerous road for pedestrians.

Speed's the real killer though, innit.

[speedking31]

It seems to be the default action these days is to minimise the disruption to other vehicles while not considering pavement users. Even when roads are quite wide enough to accommodate a parked vehicle a lot will put two wheels on the pavement.

However, in this case I guess that if the van were parked legally in the road it would cause a queue waiting to pass it which would slow everyone down, defeating its objective.

[blueg33]

How pointless. The chances of speeding along there at anytime apart from the middle of the night are virtually nil. There are speed bumps, traffic lights, numerous busses stopping at numerous bus stops etc

[STiG911]

HantsRat said:

Photo is on this page... http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Police-officer-...

It's not an offence to park in the cycle lane as the lines are seperated. I would imagine it was a 'Causing unnecessary obstruction' offence. Either way, ridiculous place to park.

Wrong.
Road Traffic Act 1988

Prohibition of driving or parking on cycle tracks.
(1)

Subject to the provisions of this section, any person who, without lawful authority, drives or parks a [F1mechanically propelled] vehicle wholly or partly on a cycle track is guilty of an offence.

A person shall not be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) above with respect to a vehicle if he proves to the satisfaction of the court—

(a)
that the vehicle was driven or (as the case may be) parked in contravention of that subsection for the purpose of saving life, or extinguishing fire or meeting any other like emergency, or

(b)
that the vehicle was owned or operated by a highway authority or by a person discharging functions on behalf of a highway authority and was driven or (as the case may be) parked in contravention of that subsection in connection with the carrying out by or on behalf of that authority of any of the following, that is, the cleansing, maintenance or improvement of, or the maintenance or alteration of any structure or other work situated in, the cycle track or its verges [F2, or the preventing or removing of obstructions to the cycle track or the preventing or abating in any other way of nuisances or other interferences with the cycle track,], or

(c)
that the vehicle was owned or operated by statutory undertakers and was driven or (as the case may be) parked in contravention of that subsection in connection with the carrying out by those undertakers of any works in relation to any apparatus belonging to or used by them for the purpose of their undertaking.

And to clarify:

Cycle tracks.
.
(1)
Without prejudice to section 24 above, a highway authority may, in or by the side of a highway maintainable at the public expense by them which consists of or comprises a made-up carriageway, construct a cycle track as part of the highway; and they may light any cycle track constructed by them under this section.

[Dave Finney]

He may not even be a Police officer. The speed camera enforcers said the operator was "A member of the police workforce", which I take to mean that s/he was a civilian.

This is not unusual. In Thames Valley, mobile speed cameras are never operated by serving police officers, the operators are all civilians.

Standards of accuracy in the press can be poor, especially when it comes to road safety.