COVID and "Bike Privilege"

[Drago]

To be fair, your average copper in the UK is liable to be sensible and sympathetic to any situation. As with the society from which they are recruited, there will be chumps and no point winding them up if you meet one.

If I get stopped while out and about in the current emergency I'll happily tell them who I am, and the reason for my excursion under the current guidelines in the broadest of terms, but they're not entitled to more than that and I won't be giving them more than that. Most coppers will be fine with that if you're polite about it - they know they can't start questioning people when not under caution and without their free and independent legal advice, so be cool, give them what they need to know and no more, and everyone is happy. They're just doing a job under difficult circumstances with poor strategic guidance and leadership, so it's a balance between your rights and their need to do a proper job.

"I am Bernard Aloysius Farquhar, BN 06/01/1969, of 69 Cleo Lane, Poshville, and I am on a journey to collect essential supplies/going to work as I cannot reasonably work from home/taking my daily exercise in public/travelling to assist a vulnerable person/travelling to seek medical treatment" is all you need to tell them (use your own name and DoB though, not mine).

BTW, a constable in unfiorm has the power to require a driver to stop in order to check their documents, if they believe they are committing a moving traffic offence, if they believe the driver of the occupant is 'wanted' or committing an arrestable offence - there is no power to require a driver to stop to chat about coronavirus related matters, although a couple of farces are doing just that. It my be they're asking these drivers for their documents to legitimise it, and then saying "oh, and by the way, why are you....?"

PS - sorry for taking it topically of topic there.

 

[steveindenmark]

You are right Drago. As we both know. If you go in with all guns blazing it will just make the situation far worse and you will just get nowhere. I always found talking to normal people, like normal people worked and humouring everyone else, also worked.

I do have a secret desire to be pulled by some total plonker though. It would be quite amusing turning up at your own custody suite. Couldnt you just completely kick the arxe out of it because you know the system and the law.

 

[Guzzi]

I worked for 5 years as a London Motorbike Courier then a year on a pushbike, I have been pulled over by the police more than most.
I once got 3 Producers in a DAY, I knew the questions on the form by heart and used to say them along with the copper, then I learnt.

Be polite, respectful and answer their questions....you will be on your way with fewer penalties.

Obviously don't incriminate yourself.

If you want any corroboration ask a friendly Police Officer about the "Attitude Test".

 

[Globalti]

"....there are a lot of Police out...."

What planet are you living on? Here in England, on Planet Earth, you'll be lucky if you see one Police car a week.

 

[ianrauk]

"....there are a lot of Police out...."

What planet are you living on? Here in England, on Planet Earth, you'll be lucky if you see one Police car a week.

Agreed. Not many police about in these here parts of SE London.

And am loving getting out on my bike on the quite streets. Certainly don't feel conscious about it. Thoroughly enjoying it in fact.

And with dragos advice above I have even less worries about going out.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Sumption said that most of the police forces had acted reasonably but that Derbyshire officers had overstepped their powers: “The police have no power to enforce ministers’ preferences but only legal regulations, which don’t go anything like as far as the government’s guidance.”

I might remind everyone that the police enforce the rule of law not ministers preferences or utterances. Well worth reading this linked article.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ment-powers-following-criticism-lord-sumption

The once a day exercise , oft quoted, is a ministers preference not what the new laws say.

As for round here I haven’t seen a single officer on foot and just the odd police car heading down the main roads in town to somewhere. Certainly no more than usual. No cars out in the lanes or villages as usual.

 

[johnnyb47]

Ive been getting out on the bike once a day since the lock down. I been riding around 1 to 1/1/5 hours each time and away from built up areas as much as i can.
It's been a life line to be able to get out and break what would otherwise be a lonely day. There's been a strong police presence on the roads and some have given me the "eye ball" but none have stopped me.
It does feel uncomfortable sometimes, as you feel, should i be doing this when the place resembles a ghost town. I've had a few incidents of abuse from passing motorist though. Blasting horns as they overtake as well as the odd comment thrown my way such as "get back home you ***** %%***"
As long as we cycle sensibility and follow the rules of staying solo i don't think anything will change for us cyclists.
Just be sensible and enjoy the quiet roads while we can and ignore the abusive drivers who are probably not fully aware of our rights to cycle in these challenging times.
I've also got my Go Pro camera fitted to my road bike at the moment just in case I do get some untoward aggro of anybody. It may help in recording such incidents.
Overall though it's not to bad out there and it's more to the fact I'm over thinking it all in these strange times will live in at the moment
All the very best 👍

 

[vickster]

"....there are a lot of Police out...."

What planet are you living on? Here in England, on Planet Earth, you'll be lucky if you see one Police car a week.

I saw at least 3 police vehicles within an hour of cycling last night

 

[Guzzi]

I worked for 5 years as a London Motorbike Courier then a year on a pushbike, I have been pulled over by the police more than most.
I once got 3 Producers in a DAY, I knew the questions on the form by heart and used to say them along with the copper, then I learnt.

Be polite, respectful and answer their questions....you will be on your way with fewer penalties.

Obviously don't incriminate yourself.

If you want any corroboration ask a friendly Police Officer about the "Attitude Test".

I also should have said if you want further corroboration ask an unfriendly Police Officer to demonstrate Restraint Techniques, ASP Batons, Leg Restraints, Rigid Cuffs, Captor Spray, Tazers, a Heckler&Koch G36 and 6 of his mates from a TSG sitting on your head.

They will win in the end, sometimes Grasshopper it is better to bend like the willow.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I've had a few incidents of abuse from passing motorist though. Blasting horns as they overtake as well as the odd comment thrown my way such as "get back home you ***** %%***"

Just be sensible and enjoy the quiet roads while we can and ignore the abusive drivers who are probably not fully aware of our rights to cycle in these challenging times.

I am sure if the police stopped both you and the drivers, the latter would have some explaining to do about their ”essential” journey. They are just abusive drivers, looking for someone to abuse. Got sod all to do with being ignorant about the covid-19 laws.

 

[Moodyman]

There is an offence of not giving you identity details to an officer who has reasonable grounds to require them, the proverbial name rank and number if you like - the officer decides what reasonable grounds are, not the person being questioned.

As for the rest of it in the current situation, give your name, DoB, address, and assure them that you're on your way to work/to collect essential supplies/taking your days single exercise period, and nothing more. They don't need to know where you work or where you're collecting your shopping from or what your essential supplies consist of, and they don't have the power to ask. Politely all the while, or course - no point being arrissey for the sake of it.

Never understood why folk act arsy with the police. I've been pulled up several times for minor issues - apologised for my mistake and was allowed to go on with a tut tut.

Being nice goes along way when dealing with people who have more power than you.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Local guidelines are that we can go out on foot or bicycle as much as we want as long as we stay more than two metres away from other citizens. Here we are yesterday doing our best:

 

[straas]

If you want lifeless, try travelling through rural france. You can pass through whole towns without seeing a person - this is pre coronavirus btw.

 

[wafter]

Thanks guys

To be clear given the nature of some of the responses, my post was simply an observation about how I feel based on my experiences operating within the current constraints; no matter how legitimate (or not) we might consider them to be. It was neither an attack upon, nor endorsement of the actions of the Police or government.. just a comment on how it feels to operate within the framework they've created and appear to be actively enforcing.

For what it's worth I've seen a lot of police on the streets since this all began; maybe they're just more conspicuous in the absence of the usual traffic; but they certainly seem to be more active and this would be in keeping with the experiences of others I've spoken to in other parts of the country, as well as various stories being covered in the local and national press.

I very much appreciate the continued ability to get out on the bike and of course am complying with the rules we've been issued; although I think it's very important for everyone to consider thier own common sense / boundaries and not just blindly do what they're told. FWIW I was minimising travel and contact before the "lockdown" was implemented, and take greater measures than prescribed when out exercising - keeping more distance from others and avoiding areas where there are likely to be a lot of people.

End of the day our shared goal is to prevent the spread of the virus, not follow government directives to the letter (nor seeking to "bend" or exploit them in spite of any increased risks this may bring if we think we can get away with it).

I think our continued right to cycle is legitimate since we all need exercise for our continued physical and mental wellbeing, and I think providing we're all sensible while out the risk of transmission is tiny; it just interests me how this now seems to afford us more priviledges than most other sections of society; which is the opposite to the usual experience of the cyclist IME.

Stay safe out there everyone 👍

 

[johnnyb47]

A lot of people forget that the police are also human beings as well.
They also have worries about their loved ones and there own personal safety at the moment. Trying to do a good job in these hard times must be really testing at the moment