Legal question

jadamson

i wondered if anyone knew what the law was on reflectors and bells...as in the ones on your wheels and handlebars and seat post and the bell on your handle bars. Ive heard something about the shop has to sell the bike with them on due to law but do i need to keep them on if im going to do a bit of road riding?

i usually do mountain biking and to be honest they look stupid! and are liable to break and i hate them! :evil:

sorry if this is in the wrong section and thank for any reply's! because i really want to run into the garage now and rip them off :twisted:

Stephen-Hawking

Have a look under the heading wheel reflectors, it might be of interest.

And then run into the garage and rip them off

I don't know, but I suspect the bike shops follow a code of conduct rather than actual law. And as someone else said - who's gonna know!

jadamson

i read that post before i wrote this =] thats what semi gave me the thought.

now im going to go into the garage for some mayhem!! in the dark! yeah :twisted:
ill blame you if the cops stop me

haha only joking 8)

batch78

Look here http://www.bikeforall.net/content/cycli ... he_law.php basically you are required to have rear and pedal reflectors, plus lights obviously!

rb1956

batch78 wrote:

Look here http://www.bikeforall.net/content/cycli ... he_law.php basically you are required to have rear and pedal reflectors, plus lights obviously!

So in the UK it's illegal to ride eggbeater and other reflectorless "sporting" pedals at night? :shock: Oh well, I shouldn't point the bone. We may not have pedal sillyness, but we do have the compulsory helmet law. :x http://rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/bicycles/cyclingrules.html

mcbazza

From CTC.org:-

It has to be said that the fine details of RVLR are seldom enforced; and provided you show some kind of white light in front and red behind you are unlikely to be challenged. If you are involved in a night-time accident however, any slight illegality with respect to your lights or reflectors may be regarded as contributory negligence.

Which then goes on to list the lights/reflectors you *should* be using between dusk & dawn.

Hmmmm.... do I fit reflectors to my Wellgo MG1 Ti pedals?

batch78

Yes theoretically it is illegal to ride clipless pedals without reflectors at night, I've never been pulled on my road bike though, and have never heard of anybody being reprimanded on said point, guess it'd only become an issue if you were to get hit and the driver claims he couldn't see you or judge decides it would have been easier to see you with pedal reflectors.

supersonic

This is why new bikes sold with SPDs often have those plastic reflector widgets fitted.

jadamson

ive taken off my front and rear reflectors and wheel reflectors but left the pedal ones on... will that be sufficient?

mcbazza

jadamson wrote:

ive taken off my front and rear reflectors and wheel reflectors but left the pedal ones on... will that be sufficient?

If you follow the law to the letter, no.
You should have a white reflector at the front. A red at the rear, and (presumably) orange ones on the pedals. I think the wheel reflectors are optional (in the eyes of the law).

If you have been riding on the roads without the above, then you must hand yourself+bike in at the nearest cop shop.

jadamson

haha but i ride paths don't! say thats illegal :twisted:

hucking_fell

jadamson wrote:

haha but i ride paths don't! say thats illegal :twisted:

That's go straight to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect 200 Gold Chocolate Bling Coin Tokens

jadamson

nooo! but if i roll a double im free again??

ESHER SHORE

a shop must sell a pedal cycle intended for road use with pedal reflectors, wheel reflectors, front and rear reflectors and a bell

if you were involved in an accident with another road user, and were injured, you could sue the shop if they failed to provide this equipment, and you would win

andyonwight

batch78 wrote:

Look here http://www.bikeforall.net/content/cycli ... he_law.php basically you are required to have rear and pedal reflectors, plus lights obviously!

Its seems the minority younger cyclist seem to have lights on their bikes or wear so type of lighter or reflective clothing.

It is not unusual for me to see about half a dozen cyclist in the early morning or evening riding with no lights on and just reflectors front and rear.

Where would you stand if you hit or got hit by one of these.

buzz1

Round our way there's alot of MTB mounted coppers, they dont have them on, so there you go.

hitthewall

Not a substitute for pedal reflectors I guess, but I bought a pair of Tesco reflecting armbands and wrap them around each ankle just above my overshoes. Bright yellow and really reflect well when car headlights hit them. £3 a pair, a good investment and dont look daft

hitthewall

Not a substitute for pedal reflectors I guess, but I bought a pair of Tesco reflecting armbands and wrap them around each ankle just above my overshoes. Bright yellow and really reflect well when car headlights hit them. £3 a pair, a good investment and dont look daft

jadamson

we have a lot of MTB coppers as well never realy looked at whether they had reflectors or not. I get jelous sometimes because they have £1200 specialized bikes and they only use them for road! what a waist of money :evil:

buzz1

Essex police must be on a budget, coz their bikes are shite.

Reeco

Essex police must be on a budget, coz their bikes are shite.

does that mean that my local police force is realy rich? because they dont ride bikes they drive cars instead

Mattbot2

Reeco wrote:

Essex police must be on a budget, coz their bikes are shite.

does that mean that my local police force is realy rich? because they dont ride bikes they drive cars instead

Ours have a helicopter. Billionaires eh?

ESHER SHORE

its not so much what the cops will do...

but what a customer could potentially do a shop in terms of a lawsuit following an accident if the shop forget the fit the reflectors and bell which the cycle manufacturer has provided with the bike (usually fitted during the PDI in the shop)

if you work for or run a bike shop, make sure you fit those goodies to every bike that goes out your door, and have a record of that!

jadamson

our have Uzi's, bazookas! and Lamborghini's beat that!!

Muddy.Bail

i would have thought you had to sell them with the bike... but they just enoy me they always fall of or break when im dirt jumping anyway :x