Cyclists and speeding

dondare

Two things....

First. Cyclists cannot be prosecuted for speeding, not because bikes don't necessarily have speedometers but because by legal definition they do not have "mechanical propulsion".

That's legal definition. So don't argue.

Second;

A mate of mine was stopped somewhere near the bottom of a long, steep hill by a couple of z-car pilots and told that they reckoned he'd being doing 70 mph. He said "so what are you going to do?"


Nothing.

Jon G

dondare wrote:

Two things....

A mate of mine was stopped somewhere near the bottom of a long, steep hill by a couple of z-car pilots and told that they reckoned he'd being doing 70 mph. He said "so what are you going to do?" Nothing.

Since bikes are covered by the Vehicle Construction & Use regs, I wonder whether a 70mph cyclist could be charged because they had exceeded the maximum design speed of their tyres. Or do cycle tyres not have specified design speeds like motor vehicle tyres?

Jon

spen666

Massimo wrote:

I was once stopped by the police for 'speeding'. They followed me dowm a veeerrrrry steep hill outside Lichfield an clocked me doing 54mph in a 40mph zone. They asked me to pull over and said thay they were unable to charge me with speeding as I was on a bike, but had I fallen off at 50+ mph they would have had to spend the next couple of hours scraping me off the road. They took my details and let me go with a verbal warning.

A verbal warning for what exactly?

A verbal warning for not breaking the law?

A verbal warning for not comitting a crime?

Oddballcp

Presumably they said "Mind how you go".

choppertron

spen666 wrote:

nickcuk wrote:

I would absolutely LOVE to find a speed camera at the bottom of a decent hill where a cyclist has a chance to get well over the trigger speed for the camera, in order to ride past with my a**e showing.

Will the forum allow the formation of a formation-a**e-flashing-team to target suitable speed camera sites ?

You'd get done for something like indecent exposure

just make sure you select the correct aperture . . .

Slim Middleton

Hey Massimo - which steep hill outside Lichfield?

I am from that area originally and can't think of any crazy steep hills except maybe Stile Cop but that's a bit further afield. I'm coming back to the UK for a holiday in the summer and I'd like to find this hill.

Cheers

Simon

Cunobelin

I believe that the 1861 "Offenses against the person act" introduced "wanton or furious cycling as a misdemeanor with ( I believe currently) a £200 although it used to be imprisonment with or without hard labour!

It was certainly used last year in a case of a death caused by a cyclist on a pavement and has been used in cases of "fast riding"

There is also "Dangerous cycling" and "Reckless cycling" which can be applied.

spen666

Cunobelin wrote:

I believe that the 1861 "Offenses against the person act" introduced "wanton or furious cycling as a misdemeanor with ( I believe currently) a £200 although it used to be imprisonment with or without hard labour!

It was certainly used last year in a case of a death caused by a cyclist on a pavement and has been used in cases of "fast riding"

There is also "Dangerous cycling" and "Reckless cycling" which can be applied.

[pedant]This being England and not the USA, there is no "Offenses against the person act "here[/pedant]

However S35 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 does have at S35 an offence of Wanton or furious driving causing bodily harm which applies to any vehicle or carriage (not just mechanically propelled vehicle)