Cycling Law...Definition and Penalties.

[Vikeonabike]

I've put up a list of UK Act and Regulations: http://forum.ctc.org...=458868#p458868

Ah Well that saves me a job.....

 

[Alun]

Do the police use any form of Sobriety Tests, such as standing on one leg with little finger on nose, or is this just an American thing from the 60's ?

I used to regularly cycle home after a few beers, one night with no lights on and quite a few lagers on board a police car pulled up alongside, the window came down and I was told in no uncertain terms to get off and push, he then said "and I am a coming back up here in 5 minutes, and if you are still riding I'll arrest you NOW GET OFF THE ROAD" I pushed it the rest of the way home

Now here is someone clearly unfit to ride, watch from 1:15
[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeD4TJUmZFc[/media]

I'll have 2 pints of what he's had!
I thought at first that his headset bearings were loose, but realised that it's probably more than that !

 

[sunnyjim]

I hope to make this into a Sticky....My intention is to produce a list of Offences, legislation and possible penalties (not Penalty points on your Driving Licence) for said Offence....



Starting from the top.



Death by dangerous cycling: This offence does not currently exist, however there are moves to have the offence introduced. If introduced it would come under the road Traffic Act 1981
___________________________________________________________________________________________


Dangerous Cycling: Section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1981

(1) A person who rides a cycle on a road dangerously is guilty of an offence.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above a person is to be regarded as

riding dangerously if (and only if)—

(a) the way he rides falls far below what would be expected of a

competent and careful cyclist, and

(b) it would be obvious to a competent and careful cyclist that riding in

that way would be dangerous.

(3) In subsection (2) above “dangerous” refers to danger either of injury to any

person or of serious damage to property; and in determining for the purposes

of that subsection what would be obvious to a competent and careful cyclist in

a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he

could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have

been within the knowledge of the accused.”

Upto £2000 Fine


Well that's the problem of people cycling in the gutter or up the inside of big trucks sorted then - Fine them £2000. We should petition for the law to be enforced.

 

[TimO]

Ah Well that saves me a job.....

Although it doesn't always highlight the exact bit of the legislation, unlike your first post.


The ones which come to mind (although in some ways by omission rather than explicit mention) are:

(i) The fact that in most instances you can't be done for speeding on a bicycle, this only applies to motor vehicles on most roads (the obvious exception is Richmond Park).

(ii) Whilst you can be done for being drunk in control of a bike, as mentioned above, and as also implied from the above but not explicitly mentioned, there is no legal limit to the amount of alcohol in your blood that could lead to this offence, but also there is no requirement to provide a sample of any sort.

(iii) There is also an explicit offence of cycling on the pavement, with a fine of up to £500 I believe. There's a lesser fine if it's given on the spot (and PCSOs can also levy this fine), but I'm not sure how much that is.

 

[Cubist]

Although it doesn't always highlight the exact bit of the legislation, unlike your first post.


The ones which come to mind (although in some ways by omission rather than explicit mention) are:

(i) The fact that in most instances you can't be done for speeding on a bicycle, this only applies to motor vehicles on most roads (the obvious exception is Richmond Park).

(ii) Whilst you can be done for being drunk in control of a bike, as mentioned above, and as also implied from the above but not explicitly mentioned, there is no legal limit to the amount of alcohol in your blood that could lead to this offence, but also there is no requirement to provide a sample of any sort.

(iii) There is also an explicit offence of cycling on the pavement, with a fine of up to £500 I believe. There's a lesser fine if it's given on the spot (and PCSOs can also levy this fine), but I'm not sure how much that is.

Did you bother reading my post?

 

[TimO]

Did you bother reading my post?

Yes, but you didn't actually explicitly say that, you just talked around it, largely assuming that people could work out what you were implying.

 

[Cubist]

Yes, but you didn't actually explicitly say that, you just talked around it, largely assuming that people could work out what you were implying.

All we have to do is show some form of impairment, and put that together with evidence that the person has consumed alcohol. In cases such as cycling and being drunk in a street or any other offence with drunkenness in the title there is, according to the law, no need for the police to quantify** the amount of alcohol.


I'm sorry, that looks perfectly clear to me. I'll stop now and leave it to the experts.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Do the police use any form of Sobriety Tests, such as standing on one leg with little finger on nose, or is this just an American thing from the 60's ?

Its not an American thing from the sixties, a lot of states still use it now - and yes, we can as well, though not in quite the same way.

They use it to justify an arrest. In the UK you can be arrested purely on suspicion of impairment. Some UK police officers are then trained to perform roadside tests (your "stand on one leg with a finger up your nose") to decide whether someone is impaired through drink or drugs.

Usually impairment is used in the UK for suspected drug driving. If we suspect alcohol, its just a case of getting you on the breathalyser.