Complaint or No Complaint

spen666

Cycling into work this morning, I arrived at the Aldgate gyratory system along the A11. As I pulled into the advanced stop section. There was a Police Community Support Officer sat there on his moped/scooter/ hairdryer.

Clearly a breach of the relevant road traffic law in that he had not stopped at the first stop line.

I said to him in a light hearted tone that he was not setting a good example.

He started by saying it was better for him to stop ahead of the traffic, then he said he was on 2 wheels and therefore allowed to stop there. At which point the lights changed and we both rode off.


Do I complain

a) Because he was setting a bad example ie breaking the laws he is there to uphold
AND/OR
b) Because he clearly either does not know the law or worse, he lied about what the legal position is

or do I get a life and grow up


:?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

PS Mr LX04EJX, I've got your number

dirk_van_gently

All motorised 2 wheelers have the classification of Bicycle on the VED disk.
So I guess he was right.

spen666

Dirk Van Gently wrote:

All motorised 2 wheelers have the classification of Bicycle on the VED disk.
So I guess he was right.

They are MOTORISED bicycles and the legislation for VED is not the same legislation as for the ASL

dirk_van_gently

That was tongue in cheek. It does however clearly state BICYCLE as the classification, and nothing about it being motorised, and in answer to your original question, I think you already answered it yourself.

Spen666
or do I get a life and grow up

That too was tongue in cheek :?

ChrisLS

...spen, I would just get a life...if I worried about half the stuff I see daily on my bike I think that I would have exploded in a great ball of frustration and rage long ago...

richardast

spen666 wrote:

Clearly a breach of the relevant road traffic law in that he had not stopped at the first stop line.

You don't mention whether you actually saw him cross the white line against a red light.
He may have crossed the white line into the box while stopping for an amber light rather than accelerating through the junction, in which case he did nothing wrong and deserves a gold star.
I thought you were a lawyer.

jonginge

Just out of interest looked up the highway for this:

178
Advanced stop lines. Some signal-controlled junctions have advanced stop lines to allow cycles to be positioned ahead of other traffic. Motorists, including motorcyclists, MUST stop at the first white line reached if the lights are amber or red and should avoid blocking the way or encroaching on the marked area at other times, e.g. if the junction ahead is blocked. If your vehicle has proceeded over the first white line at the time that the signal goes red, you MUST stop at the second white line, even if your vehicle is in the marked area. Allow cyclists time and space to move off when the green signal shows.


Anyone ever seen the last sentence applied

fossyant

Don't worry - not worth it - you'd probably be faster than him anyway.....especially on a road bike.....

BentMikey

It's only an ASL, yes he was wrong, but who really cares.

mtbcommuter

Spen, a scooter isn't a cycle, but then again it isn't a motorcycle either. I reckon by speaking to him about it he'll think twice next time. I wonder if "he" was a pretty "she" you'd have minded using the same space? Just a thought.

I think you know the answer, sit down at your PC with a nice tipple (your choice) that'll help you get over it. Then log onto ebay and put a search in for "life" see what happens.

Mr_Cellophane

Not likely to happen again as the Aldgate East Gyratory is not long for this world

http://www.eastendlife.com/downloads/do ... c88091.pdf

You might also find this interesting

http://www.towerhamletswheelers.org.uk/campaigns/#asl

mailmannz

Mr_C,

Do you have any further info on when the gyratory will only be a fond memory?

I cycle up there everyday, and while Ive never had an incident there...at least for one cyclist this change will be far too late (accident last Friday).

Regards

Mailman

Mr_Cellophane

I heard about it somewhere last week. This is on the TFL web site

Aldgate (City, South East)
On Aldgate
12 May 08 to 02 Dec 08
Aldgate East Gyratory and approaches. Major Roadworks at Aldgate East Gyratory to change existing road layout.
12 May 08 : Traffic is flowing well in the Aldgate area at present.

So looks like it will all start today.