What happens when a cyclist breaks the speed limit?

[Solocle]

Reminded me of the time I rode down Kop Hill near Princes Risborough. I didn't have the spedometer up on my Garmin and just we as fast as felt safe.

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Suffice to say, what has felt safe down that descent since then has always been a bit slower!

I have no idea if a cyclist has ever been prosecuted for furious cycling via a speed camera. Clearly they'd have difficulty identifying the rider, and chances are the only person they'd be endangering is themselves if they crashed.

Kop Hill is a goodie!

But my favourite has to be East Chevin into Otley, Yorkshire. Fairly near the top, the speed limit drops to 30.

The other side of Otley, Nidderdale.

A road bike would almost certainly be faster...

 

[nickyboy]

Now that 20mph limits are becoming widespread in towns and cities I suspect a lot more cyclists will break speed limits.

And that raises what is actually the important issue with speed limits. They are there, primarily, to keep speed down to safe levels for other road users.
If you're cycling past a primary school (so a 20mph zone) and you're doing 30mph do you think that is a safe speed? I'd say that was reckless and dangerous. Hit a child on your bike at 30mph (and protecting children is the reason for the 20 zone near schools) and you're going to do some serious injury

So whilst it's all good fun to be talking about setting off speed warning signs, recounting stories of police not being able to prosecute you etc etc, there is a serious side to this. Speed limits are there for a reason. Whilst speeding bikes aren't as dangerous as speeding cars they are not without danger. Or should cyclists go whatever speed, including 30mph in a 20mph school zone?

Here is a good example. 20 zone (primary school), downhill...very easy to do more than 30. Cycle with impunity at 30 or stick to the 20 limit?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

While road speed limits do not apply to cyclists, I take the view that they should be obeyed.

I'll quote myself here from a 20mph thread of a few years back:

I look at it from the pedestrians' perspective. In a 20mph zone, they are entitled to expect that the limit is there to prioritise their safety and that it should be respected by all vehicle operators. The elderly, and others who are less mobile, should be able to cross streets in these zones without the worry and apprehension that comes with doing the same in a 30mph, or higher, area. Crossing those roads is stressful, worrying and tiring, as they hurry as best they can to get to the other side.

And I don't expect the average pedestrian to know that speed limits can't be enforced against cyclists.

As infrequent as the opportunity to exceed it may be, I will always comply with the posted speed limit while cycling. While it might not be my legal obligation, I feel it is my moral/societal obligation.

 

[winjim]

102kph breaks NSL on a single carriageway. This is not my Garmin.

 

[C R]

Correct: the speed limits for motor vehicles are there to keep us safe(r) from those motor vehicles.

It's a shame that drivers so often ignore these limits ... do they hate each-other for it??

Do you think that there's a great deal of difference on the potential injury if a child is hit by a car at 20mph or by a bike at 30mph?

On the perception side skolly's point is that many drivers already hate cyclists, flaunting a disdain for the speed limit allowed by a legal loophole is not going to do us any favours.

 

[battered]

And that raises what is actually the important issue with speed limits. They are there, primarily, to keep speed down to safe levels for other road users.
If you're cycling past a primary school (so a 20mph zone) and you're doing 30mph do you think that is a safe speed? I'd say that was reckless and dangerous. Hit a child on your bike at 30mph (and protecting children is the reason for the 20 zone near schools) and you're going to do some serious injury

So whilst it's all good fun to be talking about setting off speed warning signs, recounting stories of police not being able to prosecute you etc etc, there is a serious side to this. Speed limits are there for a reason. Whilst speeding bikes aren't as dangerous as speeding cars they are not without danger. Or should cyclists go whatever speed, including 30mph in a 20mph school zone?

Here is a good example. 20 zone (primary school), downhill...very easy to do more than 30. Cycle with impunity at 30 or stick to the 20 limit?

View attachment 589543

Cycle there, just as anywhere else, at a safe speed. 3pm in the week, when the school tips out, be very careful. Maybe 20 is too fast. Middle of Sunday afternoon, pin your ears back, get spinning in the big dog, and see how many car scalps you can claim.

 

[C R]

Cycle there, just as anywhere else, at a safe speed. 3pm in the week, when the school tips out, be very careful. Maybe 20 is too fast. Middle of Sunday afternoon, pin your ears back, get spinning in the big dog, and see how many car scalps you can claim.

You do realise that is the excuse many drivers use for exceeding the speed limits.

 

[Solocle]

Cycle there, just as anywhere else, at a safe speed. 3pm in the week, when the school tips out, be very careful. Maybe 20 is too fast. Middle of Sunday afternoon, pin your ears back, get spinning in the big dog, and see how many car scalps you can claim.

48 mph in a 40 and hit the 20 limit at 35...

But always maintaining an ability to stop in the distance that I could see to be clear.

View: https://youtu.be/mIU73aYneS8

You do realise that is the excuse many drivers use for exceeding the speed limits.

The difference is that exceeding the speed limit in a motor vehicle is illegal, "no excuse". It is not illegal to exceed the speed limit on a bicycle, you just have to ride safely.

Riding safely will include factoring in that any pedestrians are possibly not looking for a cyclist exceeding the speed limit. Then again, the number of pedestrians who see a cyclist and then assume we're doing 5 mph, sod them!

 

[battered]

Kop Hill is a goodie!
View attachment 589537
View attachment 589538
But my favourite has to be East Chevin into Otley, Yorkshire. Fairly near the top, the speed limit drops to 30.
View attachment 589541
The other side of Otley, Nidderdale.
View attachment 589540
A road bike would almost certainly be faster...

East Chevin is VERY fast. You just have to be careful as you approach the bottom, it's easy to be a long way the top side of 40mph and someone coming out of the road to the left does a SMIDSY or, more likely, thinks "it's only a bike" and pulls out.

 

[battered]

You do realise that is the excuse many drivers use for exceeding the speed limits.

You do realise I have my tongue in my cheek.

 

[matticus]

Whilst speeding bikes aren't as dangerous as speeding cars they are not without danger. Or should cyclists go whatever speed, including 30mph in a 20mph school zone?

Here is a good example. 20 zone (primary school), downhill...very easy to do more than 30. Cycle with impunity at 30 or stick to the 20 limit?

What's so special about 30? I try to ride at an appropriate speed; that would take into account the road conditions (including gradient!), people, and any warning signs. A school at ingress/egress time would be a very major factor. I expect the more kids I could actually see close to the road, the slower I'd go (and that is true in the absence of a school)
I almost never check my speed (as measured by an onboard device) during such an assessment. I often ride with no such device, and rarely display speed when I do!

 

[Solocle]

East Chevin is VERY fast. You just have to be careful as you approach the bottom, it's easy to be a long way the top side of 40mph and someone coming out of the road to the left does a SMIDSY or, more likely, thinks "it's only a bike" and pulls out.

Yep, I remember vividly airbraking to about 40 mph quite quickly by sitting up, as it wouldn't be prudent to approach that corner with a junction just beyond, nor those driveways, faster. The other mitigation technique was riding close to the centreline like a motorbike, because that gives you more reaction time to anything at the side of the road - significantly more than a car doing the same speed.

 

[matticus]

Do you think that there's a great deal of difference on the potential injury if a child is hit by a car at 20mph or by a bike at 30mph?

On the perception side skolly's point is that many drivers already hate cyclists, flaunting a disdain for the speed limit allowed by a legal loophole is not going to do us any favours.

1: Yes I do, based on the math. But both are quite dangerous to a small person (see my reply about the school for more detail)
2: I really don't care. The "favours" you mention will make no difference whatsoever. Show me how speeding drivers are influencing motorists' opinion, then we'll work from there ...

 

[Dan77]

It would be extremely rare that I would be able to break the speed limit other than on a steep 30mph section.

I don't subscribe to this blanket 'speed limits are there for a reason' when applied to cyclists. Yes, you could seriously injure or even kill somebody. That's where judgement comes in. I doubt any of us would be absolutely gunning it through a town centre or past a school at kicking out time. Cyclists have to be aware of their surroundings. Moreso than drivers. If there are pedestrians around then take the appropriate care and always be prepared for them to step out on you. If it's a quiet road with nobody around then why not have some fun and just be prepared to slow it down when circumstances change.

 

[T4tomo]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...jailed-for-18-months-over-death-of-pedestrian

Not just outside schools, anywhere littered with pedestrians, excess speed isn't safe (accepting our friend above mixed speed with being an utter tool). That said with good visibility clear road etc.

Completely unrelated, your speed readings from strava / garmin etc aren't at all accurate for the max reading / instant readings. I've had the odd glitch that said i'd gone at some crazy speed, which i know I haven't.

Like the time I almost hit 60mph thru central London on my Brompton, past Spitalfields? Also on that ride I set a KOM that last several years on a short segment on High Holborn, again complete crap.