Police To Crack Down On Cyclists Using Pavements
For once I find myself in total agreement with what I read in the paper. This from last week’s Whitley Bay Guardian:
"NORTH Tyneside’s cyclists have been issued with a reminder by police that pavements are for pedestrians.
Police in the borough have received several complaints about cyclists riding on pavements from pedestrians concerned for their own safety.
Sergeant Adrian Smiles said: ‘Officers want to promote road safety across North Tyneside, and this means making sure that cyclists ride safely and don’t become a danger to others, whether on foot or on other road vehicles. Police will offer advice to cyclists who are causing a nuicance in this manner and will always seek to educate people first about their behaviour, but if this advice is not heeded, then officers will prosecute if the situation merits this action’
Cyclists caught riding on a pavement face a £30 fixed-penalty notice.
Sgt Smiles also called on cyclists to think about the safety of other people, ensure they have good-quality bike lights fitted, always wear reflective clothing and a cycle helmet, and keep to cycle lanes whenever possible"
They’re right of course - something MUST be done about these reckless pavement cyclists. I took a few photos of some of them over the weekend. Just take a look at this nuicance behaviour from cyclists:
OK - in fairness, these aren’t pavement cyclists - they’re cars that’ve been abandoned on the pavement by their owners. Hopefully you spotted this.
But why do people do this?
My guess is that they’d say that there aren’t the facilities - there’s no room on the road, or even if there is, there’s a risk of damage from other passing vehicles.
Funny thing is, I’d guess that if you asked people why they ride bikes on the pavement, most of them would say the same sort of thing. Drivers don’t give them room, and even where they do, they spend a lot of time worrying about the risk of damage from vehicles speeding past.
Perhaps rather than cracking down on this problem, and encouraging cyclists to wear reflective clothing & helmets, and sticking to the often-derisive cycle lanes we have, we’d be better to focus our efforts on improving the facilities for all users of the roads & pavements.
Maybe that would encourage more people to ride bikes or walk . . . and that in turn would mean more parking spaces, and less "need" for people to park on the pavement.
Would YOU vote for that?
It’s high time the war on the motorist was ended.
Pfft.
Superb post, Karl. I find myself constantly shocked at the pavement parking that goes on these days; good idea to contrast it with the supposed menace of cyclists.
Here’s a suggestion: the police always justify these crack-downs on pavement cycling by saying there have been complaints. I’m sure there have - one or two. Perhaps what’s needed is an organized campaign whereby cyclists complain daily to the same police about pavement parking and bad driving? This might at least put the ball into the police’s court, and they might have to attempt to justify clamping down following one lot of complaints but not another.
I have to disagree with Ian, and actually say this post muddies the issue. Yes parking on pavements (or bike lanes) is bad & it is fair to say it should be ticketed at least as much as cyclists. But the experience of having a cyclist come at you full pelt in a pedestrian area is nothing like the experience of walking around a parked car, so you are only going to offend the many pedestrians that have had that experience.
Where there is no choice but to have cycles share pavements with pedestrians, towns should be alerted to that and signpost the pavements appropriately so that pedestrians know to look out for cycles and cycles are reminded to KEEP THEIR SPEED DOWN to walking pace when appropriating pedestrian spaces.
This may sound unrealistic to you, but I was just cycling on a pavement along a busy road with no shoulder which was signposted for both cyclists & pedestrians in Illinois, of all places. It also had marked crossings where the pavement changed sides of the road. The signs and crossings were clearly a new adaptation of old pavements. So if even the USA can do this surely the UK can.
Humm, one wonders whether the police understand the basic concepts of road safety when you see statements like this: “Sergeant Adrian Smiles said: ‘Officers want to promote road safety across North Tyneside, and this means making sure that cyclists ride safely and don’t become a danger to others, whether on foot or on other road vehicles.” So the police see it as their job to defend those at lease risk of harm against the vulnerable?
Yes cyclist on the pavements can cause a nuisance to pedestrians if they are behaving in a reckless way. However, if the police were really concerned with road safety, they would be cracking down on those who cause the greatest harm, drivers, and make the roads safe for everybody.
My own thoughts on cycle safety are here.
John - Too true - it’s time to leave the poor lambs alone.
Ian - fantastic idea. Let’s promote it via Twitter with the hashtag #WarOnMotorists.
Joanna - You’re quite right of course. But most people on the pavement just bimble along, and really aren’t a menace to anyone but themselves. What I think you’re talking about though is Cycling Furiously (see the detailed explanation about 3/4 of the way down this page on Bike for All), which is typical of the sort of loutish behaviour that gives us all a bad name. Funny thing is, I’d put good money on the type of people who cycle like this, drive in just the same way.
Kim -Yes, the police would seem to see it as their job to defend the strong from the weak. But that’s only fair - after all, drivers do pay road tax.
And roads are for cars!?
You know I’m slightly in favour of cyclists not cycling on the pavement, mostly because the more cyclists on the road the safer it is. And if it’s really necessary to be on the pavement, it’d be nicer if people cycled at walking pace at least.
Also, since I’ve complained a few times about cars parking on the pavement in my street, I’m told it’s not actually an office to do so! Surprising don’t you think?
I’m with you on that - pavements are for pedestrians. So if people want to cycle on them because they feel the roads are too dangerous, then they should cycle in a manner that blends in with pedestrians - at a walking pace or thereabouts.
You’re right that it’s not an offence (outside London) to park in the pavement. However . . . I think that the same laws that ban cycling on the pavement (1835 Highways Act as amended by the 1888 Local Government Act) could apply to cars. So although it’s not illegal to be parked on the pavement, it’s illegal to have driven the car on the pavement to get it parked in the first place. Rule 145 of the Highway Code would seem to back this up, and also references Section 34 of the 1988 Road Traffic Act. Maybe that should be the specific nature of the complaints we make for some thing to be done about this menace to pedestrians’ quiet enjoyment of their pavements?
Please remember though, I’m not actually a lawyer, and don’t even play one in a soap opera!