Stopped by police

[david1949]

Was cycling along a Dual Carriageway this morning there is a cycle lane on the sidewalk
but a lot of give way stops on it so i ride on the carriageway . The carriageway is 6 mile long and the cycle path is only 1 mile long a police car pulled me over and told me that a cyclist was not allowed to ride on any main road if a cycle path was available to cycle on. i said i never heard of that one he then told me that if he caught me doing it again he would book me got home looked up the highway code but could not fine anything in it saying what i had been told by the police officer. Has anyone on the forum heard of this law.

 

[Miles]

You had every right to be on the road:

Rules for cyclists (59-82) : Directgov - Travel and transport

London Cycling Campaign

Miles

 

[Willin']

I was about to post the very same link! I've never heard of such a thing - it's a pity you didn't ask him what infraction of the law you be would charged under.

 

[flecc]

There have been a few cases of this nonsense David, they do try it on, but stand your ground politely.

 

[z0mb13e]

Perhaps if the cycle lane you were on was classed as a mandatory cycle lane, the police may have incorrectly misinterpreted the mandatory part to mean mandatory for bicycles and not, as appears to be the correct interpretation, mandatory for motor vehicles not to enter them.

Do cycle lanes have any legal significance? | UK Cycle Rules - information on cycling law in England and Wales

 

[yselmike]

Its most likely a E.U law I believe here in the Netherlands you must use a bike lane if its there.

 

[david1949]

I have been down to the police station and been told that the traffic car should not have stopped me but if i had been involved in a accident the car driver insurance could have argued that the accident was in part my fault as a cycle lane was there for me to use . But over all there is no law that says that i must ride in a
cycle lane on a sidewalk he took my details and the time that i was stopped and will look into it for me to see why i was stopped.

 

[Mark Loveridge]

if i had been involved in a accident the car driver insurance could have argued that the accident was in part my fault as a cycle lane was there for me to use .

This is crazy! A cycle has as much right on the road as a car, regardless of other routes being available.

 

[CRAZYNIGHT]

hmm to the police stop the predestines who walk on a cycle lane? what rubbish well done for keeping your cool. Jealous that your bike can go faster than there panda hahaha

 

[rooel]

".... if i had been involved in a accident the car driver insurance could have argued that the accident was in part my fault as a cycle lane was there for me to use..."

I know from discussions with personal injury lawyers that insurance companies invariably try on the "contributory negligence" gambit to reduce the compensation they are due to pay for their insured driver's fault. They try it too where a pedestrian, in no way at fault, is knocked down on the road by a careless or reckless driver and there is a pedestrian crossing not far away: the insurance company will argue that it was contributory negligence on the part of the pedestrian not to have used the crossing. Such pleading should be resisted: there is no legal requirement for a cyclist to use either an on-road or off-road cycle lane nor for a pedestrian to use a pedestrian crossing. Unfortunately such victims mainly have to use no-fee, no-win lawyers who are remunerated only if or when the insurance company pays up. Some of them therefore are ready to accept reduced compensation for a client now rather than higher compensation much later at the door of the court or at the conclusion of a court case.

 

[NRG]

This is crazy! A cycle has as much right on the road as a car, regardless of other routes being available.

Well maybe not, I'm no expert but there may be grounds to prosecute if there is delibrate obstruction:

Surrey Police go after inconsiderate cyclists | Latest News | Cycling Weekly

 

[morphix]

David when he stopped you did he check over your bike at all or ask any questions? Did he comment at all on it being electric?

 

[david1949]

Nothing at all just about me riding on a dual carriageway when there is a cycle path on the sidewalk they have put a lot of cycle paths around were i live. They are not good it is stop start/ in a one mile stretch there is 10 give ways for cycles. It should be like Europe the cycles should have right of way and the stop line should be behind the cycle lane going across

 

[steveindenmark]

I am in Denmark and whether we are on a cycle path or on a road we have the right of way as cyclists. Having said that I have found that discretion is the better part of valour. But on the whole we are kings of the road.

If I ride down a cycle path , cars coming out of side roads or turning across the cycle path must give way to me and they certainly do.

I would hate to be riding in the UK.

Steve

 

[Haku]

On the subject of being stopped by the police whilst on a bike, I'd be interested to know what people here think of this situation caught on camera:

Police Brutality: What Happens When You Film The British Police - YouTube


edit: I also found some more police stupidity in action:

Father prosecuted for carrying child on bike | road.cc .

 

[amigafan2003]

On the subject of being stopped by the police whilst on a bike, I'd be interested to know what people here think of this situation caught on camera:

Police Brutality: What Happens When You Film The British Police - YouTube

The cyclist was being a ****. You speak to Police in a polite and amenable manner and treat them with respect, not in a rude and insulting manner. I also note how he didn't challenge the statement that he rode through a red traffic light (one of my pet hates).

Oh, and evading a Police officer when being questioned - that's a good one too.

Yes, the cyclist was technically correct in most of his statements but he was still being a **** - the kind of cyclist I loathe the most - one rule for him, one rule for everyone else.

A quick "I'm sorry officer, it shant happen again" right at the beginning of the conversations would have probably diffused that situation quite nicely.

edit: I also found some more police stupidity in action:

Father prosecuted for carrying child on bike | road.cc .

That's not an example of Police stupidity - that's more a case of the law being correctly applied but where there is an ambiguity in said law - a classic case of "the law is an ass".


I assume you are no fan of our Police? There may be a few bad apples, even a few stupid ones but the vast majority are decent and hard working people, and they deserve our respect, gratitude and some common courtesy.

 

[TylerD]

What an arrogant, smug, self satisfied pratt - the cyclist that is

 

[TylerD]

edit: I also found some more police stupidity in action:

Father prosecuted for carrying child on bike | road.cc .

Am I the only one to wonder why any parent would put their child at risk by cycling on a public road with the child on board, no matter where the seat is (in this particular case I think the parent was being criminally negligent and it was a good thing that the police did stop him)

 

[lectureral]

Am I the only one to wonder why any parent would put their child at risk by cycling on a public road with the child on board, no matter where the seat is (in this particular case I think the parent was being criminally negligent and it was a good thing that the police did stop him)

I must have missed something here - the child was on a child seat attached to a bike? That seems pretty normal practice to me.

Living here perhaps puts a different perspective - it is quite common to see a child (under 5) standing unattached and unhelmeted on the front of a scooter while Mum steers and two other older children sit behind. Not exactly that but close:

On the other, as a lawyer, I am less down on the student of law than the rest of you - it is important that the police stick to the law for all of us and it doesn't hurt for someone who knows the law to challenge them occasionally - there is always a tendency for some overreach by the police (as a photographer e.g. - police preventing people taking photographs under anti-terrorist legislation). eg http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/officers-claim-they-dont-need-law-to-stop-photographer-taking-pictures-2012827.html

 

[Haku]

That's not an example of Police stupidity - that's more a case of the law being correctly applied but where there is an ambiguity in said law - a classic case of "the law is an ass".

I see it as an example of bored police trying to get brownie points and justify their jobs, the child seat was bought at Halfords, not ordered over the internet from another country FFS. It's like the time, at night, I was stopped on a pavement taking a drink and a police car drove past me, I finished my drink, put my lights on and then went on my way on the road along an unlit stretch that goes on for a few hundred yards. The police who had driven past me had turned around and drove back because they had wrongly assumed I was cycling without lights, they had to continue right to the end of the unlit stretch to turn around and then go back past me in the original direction the were first going. Wish I could've seen their faces when they saw my back light turned on.
The amount of times I've seen cyclists without lights on the main roads is ridiculous and I've never seen any of them stopped by police.

No I'm not a fan of the police, but that doesn't mean I hate them, I just rather not have any interaction with them whatsoever.