First invalid carriages, now a bike:
tinyurl.com/kn9bzx
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Read this earlier today. Really is time we started putting these people in front of the courts.
Unless he was beamed down from Mars yesterday or has just emerged from a cave after being raised by wild dogs, then he couldn't fail to know that his mode of transport was illegal on a motorway.
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Unless he was beamed down from Mars yesterday or has just emerged from a cave after being raised by wild dogs then he couldn't fail to know that his mode of transport was illegal on a motorway.
Courts no use at all as like the invalid carriage cases the issue is confusion not wilfull law breaking.
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Surely it is time to let a court decide whether it is confusion or law breaking.
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What was wrong with the pavement on the ordinary roads ?
Or couldn't he make fast enough progress there due to other cyclists ?
Ted
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I followed a cyclist down a long hill on a country road today. He reached 40 mph!
I just stayed well back and followed as I wouldn't have been going any faster on that bit of road anyway.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 12/07/2009 at 23:52
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Insane, I saw a cyclist the other day on the A1 in pitch black conditions. I hope he didn't continue on to the A1M which was next junction. I didn't see him until I was nearly on him, no hi-vis jacket and reflectors only, I would have dreaded to have been a lorry driver ploughing up on him.
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Unless he was beamed down from Mars yesterday or has just emerged from a cave after being raised by wild dogs, then he couldn't fail to know that his mode of transport was illegal on a motorway.
And you could make the same argument against all the motorists who sped by at over 70mph knowing it was illegal. Sometimes a little discretion is called for Mr X
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The law is black and white when you are behind the wheel of a car. There is no discretion then .
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The law is black and white when you are behind the wheel of a car. There is no discretion then.
So why don't the police prosecute all drivers exceeding 70mph on motorways. Because they are using some discretion Mr X
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I'm not saying it applies in this case, but these days most cyclists completely ignore all traffic regulations and get away with doing so.
Edited by L'escargot on 13/07/2009 at 08:39
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I suspect that there are far more people walking on motorways than riding pushbikes or electric scooters... but stories about the police removing them doesn't make such a good story...
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I suspect that there are far more people walking on motorways than riding pushbikes ...........
I suspect I've hit a raw nerve!
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Sorry, L'es. lost me there!
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Then lets see them in court as well with punishments to fit. They too are endangering motorists. Funny how you lose all rights once you get behind the wheel of a car and are considered fair game.
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Should have been on the M23 after the London-Brighton Bike Ride the other weekend. On the Sunday evening passed three different groups of cyclists on the hard shoulder riding north between Gatwick and M25 , two with following police cars with lights on for escort/protection. Obviously had come up the A23 and just kept going. Fortunately they were keeping well over and traffic was quite slow, never seen so many cars with bikes on racks in one place!
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I would have dreaded to have been a lorry driver ploughing up on him
IMO the cyclist would actually have been more visible to a lorry driver, because a) lorries only travel at 56mph, giving the driver more time to read the road ahead, b) lorry drivers tend to scan further ahead than the average car driver, owing to the longer braking distance of their vehicle and the need plan ahead and to use more space to avoid obstructions and c) lorry drivers tend to expect the unexpected, as the consequences (loss of livelihood etc) are much greater if they get it wrong.
So I would suggest that car drivers pose more of a danger to the unlit cyclist that lorry drivers.
Dave TD
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And presumably you get a canny view from up there?
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I wonder if one of these would be allowed on the motorway:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8147104.stm?ls
"A Berlin inventor has come up with an electric bike which you power by pedalling that can reach speeds of 50 mph."
Scary...
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Scary...
Pretty impressive though. As the vehicle has a motor and pedals, I suppose it is just a modern version of the old put-put, as we used to call them? If the Germans seem to allow them on the autobahn, what will the British authorities say?
No need to answer that ...
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what will the British authorities say?
That the rider will need a CBT, helmet, leg protectors, licence, insurance, and best of all a number plate whose size creates so much drag that the benefits of electric traction are totally negated against a headwind.
Sorry, sore point on the last comment! ;-)
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a recipe for disaster, who would think that the pedal cycle in their wing door mirror is trundling toward you at 50 mph as your change lane etc etc
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 14/07/2009 at 01:11
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Looking at it closely it seems to use parts from a small motorcycle rather than a pushbike and there is what seems to be a numberplate bracket on the back, and its speed is more than a moped and some scooters so I don't really see any problems... though it will be interesting to see how the UK authorities rate it... pushbike or motorbike?
Edited by b308 on 14/07/2009 at 09:27
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Just heard article on local News.
Apparently a guy who was doing a cross country charity cycle was caught cycling on M74 and was charged and had 3 points put on his licence.
However this has now been revoked as the police / Procurator Fiscal has admitted that it should not have impacted on his driving licence.
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More on Bobby's story in this link:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/814...m
Delighted to hear that the polis/procurator have revoked the points which struck me as totally iniquitable.
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Hang on... He's got a full driving license, so he should know that riding a pushbike on a motorway is illegal... and he would have passed signs saying that pushbikes are not permitted... I say the points should have stayed on though no doubt the Law says they can't!
Edited by b308 on 15/07/2009 at 10:27
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Are those Prohibited Traffic signs still displayed on motorways? I thought they disappeared along with the 70 speed limit signs, probably some time in the 1980s.
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Ironically, or even paradoxivally, cycling on a motorway is probably safer than most other roads. If you cycle near the left edge of the hard shoulder, only the odd co-incidence of a vehicle pulling over & stopping would pose a danger - and maybe more chance of a puncture of course.
On most non-motorway roads, there's very little safety margin - you're effectively being overtaken in the same lane constantly - with varying amounts of margin, usually much less than the width of a hard shoulder.
I may well start a campaign list a No10govuk to allow cyclists on motorways - do I have your support Mr X?
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Probably the same for pedestrians as well... perhaps they should put in a cycle/footpath inside the hard shoulder...
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Why don't we just take motorists off the roads all together...?
Am I still on a motoring forum ?
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