Cyclist and speeding laws help please.

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

A cyclist can be stuck on for speeding.

Enormous mitigation for not having a speed measuring device, hence prosecutions are almost unheard of.

That is really indepth Drago, thank you.

 

[Drago]

Always a pleasure

 

[Sore Thumb]

A cyclist can be stuck on for speeding.

Enormous mitigation for not having a speed measuring device, hence prosecutions are almost unheard of.

More info required please and a legal reference if possible.

I'm taking about a specific cycling offence for speeding. Not the police, not being able to charge for speeding so use the furious and dangerous cycling laws instead to get them for speeding.

 

[ufkacbln]

Morally there is an obligation to stick to the speed limits (and other legisation) however it is not the same offence. For instance you cannot have points placed on your license.

Bizarrely the penalties for the laws that can be used are far higher than for motorists. The common offence is "Wanton or Furious Cycling" and is ludicrously part of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861

Drivers of carriages injuring persons by furious driving Whosoever, having the charge of any carriage or vehicle, shall by wanton or furious driving or racing, or other wilful misconduct, or by wilful neglect, do or cause to be done any bodily harm to any person whatsoever, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years.”

If only speeding motorists were looking at two year sentences!

 

[I like Skol]

The frequently repeated mantra, often heard on this forum, is that cycles have no legal requirement to have a calibrated speedo and so cannot be expected to observe the speed limit posted for motorised vehicles. Just to be pedantic (and absurd), what if a runner could break the speed limit, would they be prosecuted?

 

[slowmotion]

Morally there is an obligation to stick to the speed limits (and other legisation) however it is not the same offence. For instance you cannot have points placed on your license.

Bizarrely the penalties for the laws that can be used are far higher than for motorists. The common offence is "Wanton or Furious Cycling" and is ludicrously part of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861



If only speeding motorists were looking at two year sentences!

Splendid! Can they bang up London Dynorod en-masse?

 

[Drago]

More info required please and a legal reference if possible.

I'm taking about a specific cycling offence for speeding. Not the police, not being able to charge for speeding so use the furious and dangerous cycling laws instead to get them for speeding.

I'm at home and this has never arisen since I was in class at Ashford over 2 decades ago, so you're not going to get one tonight.

If you think you can stand the suspense I'll find itvin Blackstones when I'm at work in the week.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

The royal parks have a local bylaw in force do different to national speeding laws as far as I am aware.

However they can only do you for furious cycling I believe.

And after police started trying to enforce the 20mph speed limit in Greenwich Park they discovered that the 20mph limit was not legally enforceable for bikes. As far as I know it is enforceable in Richmond Park and another park over in the west of London but it needs to have special legislation before it can be applied willy-nilly to other royal parks.

As a freewheeling road bike will easily outdo 30mph down the hill in the park, I think you'd need a specific offence called ''furious freewheeling'' to secure a prosecution.

Anyhow, the general rule outside the royal parks exception over in the west of London, is that speed limits per se do not apply to bikes. Dangerous (or ''furious'' in legalese) cycling can apply.

 

[ianrauk]

''furious freewheeling''

How does one furious freewheel?

 

[Sore Thumb]

The frequently repeated mantra, often heard on this forum, is that cycles have no legal requirement to have a calibrated speedo and so cannot be expected to observe the speed limit posted for motorised vehicles. Just to be pedantic (and absurd), what if a runner could break the speed limit, would they be prosecuted?

You have answered you own statement. It's not being pedantic if there is no law to enforce a cyclist to have a speedo and as far as I am aware no law specifically regarding cycling and speeding.

And a runner cannot break the speed limit because there is no law that says that a runner has to obey the speed limit laws. So even if they could run faster than 30 mph the law would still not apply.

 

[HLaB]

I'm guessing from Drago's posts that a cyclist can be done for speeding if they have a calibrated computer fitted, however there is no legal requirement to have one and thus it has never led to a prosecution.

 

[Sore Thumb]

Morally there is an obligation to stick to the speed limits (and other legisation) however it is not the same offence. For instance you cannot have points placed on your license.

Bizarrely the penalties for the laws that can be used are far higher than for motorists. The common offence is "Wanton or Furious Cycling" and is ludicrously part of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861



If only speeding motorists were looking at two year sentences!

Morally AND legally motorists have an obligation to stick to speed limits.

However this does not stop many from breaking the law.

When you talk about morally, I think physically would be more important.

Because physically, most cyclists would not be able to reach or maintain the speed of 30mph.

 

[I like Skol]

Because physically, most cyclists would not be able to reach or maintain the speed of 30mph.

I'm not bragging but I do frequently reach max speeds of upto 35 mph on my commute and I don't travel on any roads with a limit higher than 30mph. I am also not particularly fast so there are a good few cyclists that can go faster and for longer than I can manage.

 

[Sore Thumb]

I'm guessing from Drago's posts that a cyclist can be done for speeding if they have a calibrated computer fitted, however there is no legal requirement to have one and thus it has never led to a prosecution.

Maybe so. However I have not seen a law that says you can be done for speeding, only if you have a speedo fitted.
If this was the case then most club/racer/time trial cyclists would remove their speedos sharpish.

 

[slowmotion]

Well, my Cateye Strada Wireless recorded that I reached the furious speed of 22.7 mph in Richmond Park this evening, in the dark. The bye-law limit is 20 mph. Should I present myself to Hammersmith police station and fess up? The possible guilt is a heavy burden to carry.