I've been stopped by the police today :(

[cwah]

Hello all,

I was today late going to meet friends, and I decided to cycle fast from home. I jumped over a red light to go faster... and then a police car ran next to me and asked me to stop and park my bike...

The police officer asked me if I knew I did something wrong... I told her it was the red light.. but it was also very often safer to go over red light as car act like we don't exist..

Then she looked at my bike. And asked me what was the battery pack on my bike!

Police: Is it electric? What are the digits on the bike? (my wattmeter)
Me: Yes, it's electric. It helps me to put bright light on the bike for safety
Police: How fast does it go?
Me: ...
Police: Do you know at what speed people die most of the time??
Me: 15mph??
Police: Some die at 15mph, but most die at 30mph. Where do you live?
Me: France, I'm just here for a short period...
Police: Don't you have an UK address? Come inside the car

Then she fined me saying that I can't escape it and they'll find me if I don't pay when I'll go back to London... (I'm planning to pay anyway).


Not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, for some reason she forgot about my bike speed and its legality as soon as I told her I was from France and she can't send the fine to my home. I still provided her my temporary address because I planned to pay that..


I was really afraid to get questions about my bike legality, speed, and power


Damn, better to blend inside the mass and not being too obvious :/

 

[martin@onbike]

Or you could just not break the law and stop at the red light, saving you money, saving the Police officers time and not potentially causing an accident.

 

[shemozzle999]

I advise you to quickly remove this post. Pay the fine and learn from your mistakes.
You have no idea who visit this site and if you are quick enough the spybot visitors won't be able to put this out on the world wide web for all to see, especially as you have posted the photos with all your details.

 

[cwah]

I haven't put my name or address there.

Shall I still remove the post?

 

[shemozzle999]

Yes, you will be traceable via the fixed penalty notice serial number.

 

[jdallan]

You could try getting off on a technicality - I doubt if the address shown on the ticket exists

 

[cwah]

removed it. My address in the uk is temporary anyway

 

[shemozzle999]

I would also advise you ask jdallan to remove the reference to the location.

 

[jdallan]

I would also advise you ask jdallan to remove the reference to the location.

Post changed, although I think you're being a bit paranoid.

 

[shemozzle999]

Maybe I am but I don't want to lose my right to use my ebike.

 

[tillson]

cwah, you could claim that you are insane. I would believe you.

 

[benjy_a]

Maybe I am but I don't want to lose my right to use my ebike.

Why would you lose your right to use your bike because Cwah posted a picture of a fpn? You could try some foil wrapped around your head that may help? If your bike isn't legal you have no right to use it on the road in any case......(stir the old pot )

 

[jackhandy]

Damn, better to blend inside the mass and not being too obvious :/

Absolutely.

 

[wurly]

Absolutely.

But that is something that cwah hasn't been very good at

 

[jackhandy]

Doubly absolutely

 

[103Alex1]

I've always said it ... don't think that balls-out bikes are the right thing for cities. *stirs pot .... *

Anyhoo ... pay the FPN in cash & have done with it. Lesson learned !

 

[flecc]

Or you could just not break the law and stop at the red light, saving you money, saving the Police officers time and not potentially causing an accident.

He could, but however:

It can sometimes be safer for a cyclist to cross the red light rather than wrestle with one or two ton vehicles alongside.

We all break the law, I've just come back from doing that, driving at more than third over a speed limit where and when it was completely safe to do so. Conversely when driving through the 20 limit outside the local primary school when the pupils are coming out I'm doing well under half that.

We are not robots, we are born with free will and a capacity to make judgements according to circumstances. The young have a natural need to try their limits to tune this capacity, and Cwah is a young man.

What he did wrong in my view was not so much the light jumping but not being aware of what was around him, such as the presence of a police car. That's the lesson to learn, being fully aware when on the road is what avoids accidents and incidents like this.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

For me observation is the most important thing. I would much rather have a driver drive a few mph over the limit and be aware of potential hazards than one which is constantly looking at their speedo.

Equally you should drive to the conditions not always safe to do speed limit but it is crazy to have 20 mph limit outside a school at 2am but the law is often an ass. There should be variable limits in situations like this as most drivers or cyclists will be extra cautious around schools when children are going to/leaving school.

 

[jackhandy]

For me observation is the most important thing. I would much rather have a driver drive a few mph over the limit and be aware of potential hazards than one which is constantly looking at their speedo

That's something I've noticed when driving over the kind of speed humps that are a lump, rather than a ridge accross the road; particularly when there's a series of them:
I find myself concentrating on getting a wheel either side of them, to kill the jolt, when I should be casting an eye about for whatever is the reason for the restriction.
I apreciate the need to slow drivers down, but this method feels counterproductive to me.

 

[Clockwise]

That's something I've noticed when driving over the kind of speed humps that are a lump, rather than a ridge accross the road; particularly when there's a series of them:
I find myself concentrating on getting a wheel either side of them, to kill the jolt, when I should be casting an eye about for whatever is the reason for the restriction.
I apreciate the need to slow drivers down, but this method feels counterproductive to me.

You should get a bike or an ebike, you can just zoom past in the gap with ease.