Police fining cyclist for breaking the law..

[Melonfish]

Wrong, sorry. Whether you get a ticket is down to the cop, not you. . You then have the option of electing a court appearance or paying the fine. Paying the fine is an admission of guilt.

as is accepting a caution.

 

[Davidc]

actually the law states that cycles are "carriages" but yes you are right they need to stop too

Carriages are a class of vehicle, what that means is that all vehicle laws apply, plus the (few) that only apply to carriages. In fact the definition in the VCRT is the superior one, as the UK is a signatory and has to comply. When I looked at it a good few years back for an article there were no UK get outs either. Quite how the definitions work I don't know since their definition of a bicycle includes a bell !?!

What clearly doesn't apply is laws exclusively for motor vehicles, (or other specific classes other than cycles and pedal cycles)

 

[Angelfishsolo]

It's not poor writing but simply not put into context properly.
I spoke to Graham Horwood about this a few months ago. They are targeting all road users and this includes any road users that stop in the ASL when they shouldn't.

Then it is poor writing as it implies that cyclists who stop at ASL will be targeted. Context is so very important in the written word.

 

[Bman]

Wrong, sorry. Whether you get a ticket is down to the cop, not you. . You then have the option of electing a court appearance or paying the fine. Paying the fine is an admission of guilt.

Good point. I wasnt clear enough. By "accepting" a FPN, I was implying that you pay the fine. If you dont accept it, you dispute it in court.

Thanks for clearing it up

 

[apollo179]

Im sorry but in the hierarchy of anti social behaviour i reckon rljing has to rank pretty low , that isnt to say it should be totally ignored but surely is a taskforce really necessary. Im sure that the police have got better things to do and going out on a limb i would suggest that most police would agree that their time could be better spent.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Im sorry but in the hierarchy of anti social behaviour i reckon rljing has to rank pretty low , that isnt to say it should be totally ignored but surely is a taskforce really necessary. Im sure that the police have got better things to do and going out on a limb i would suggest that most police would agree that their time could be better spent.

If cyclists want their complaints about drivers taken seriously then they need to accept responcibility for their own illegal actions. Simplez.

 

[barongreenback]

Definitely. Better to approach these things from the moral high ground.

 

[apollo179]

If cyclists want their complaints about drivers taken seriously then they need to accept responcibility for their own illegal actions. Simplez.

Really each complaint should be taken on its own merits.
If the cyclists complaint about a driver is serious then it should be taken seriously. If it isnt then it shoudnt. And vice versa. I dont want the police out chasing rljing cyclists any more than i want them out chasing cars for going a few miles above the speed limit at 2am on an empty road.
Police resources are limited and surely we should direct this importance resource where it is most needed not after cyclists who infringe of the asl.

 

[apollo179]

Definitely. Better to approach these things from the moral high ground.

If i sqint i can just see the moral high ground from down here in the real world.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Really each complaint should be taken on its own merits.
If the cyclists complaint about a driver is serious then it should be taken seriously. If it isnt then it shoudnt. And vice versa. I dont want the police out chasing rljing cyclists any more than i want them out chasing cars for going a few miles above the speed limit at 2am on an empty road.
Police resources are limited and surely we should direct this importance resource where it is most needed not after cyclists who infringe of the asl.

So lets have all police out solving murders and rapes. They are far more serious than most RTC's.

 

[Dan B]

When they announce a crackdown on rlj/pavement riding/asls/etc they usually mean they are fining cyclists for RLJs and pavement riding, and giving drivers a stern talking-to for ASL infringements. I've never heard of any cyclist getting pulled for ASL infringements, not least because the law on cyclists entering an ASL on red (you have to use the feeder lane) is quite incredibly stupid and practically nobody even knows it is a law anyway - at least, unless they've done a few RLJ threads on forums like this, where the topic tends to come up at some point.

You would think that for consistency they would give everyone a stern talking to or else give everyone a ticket, but the law on crossing ASLs stop lines in a car is £60 plus 3 points - i.e. the same penalty as you'd get for going straight through the junction - which a lot of coppers feel is excessive for a "victimless crime"

 

[apollo179]

So lets have all police out solving murders and rapes. They are far more serious than most RTC's.

Im not sure i would go that far but im glad your seeing things in a diferent perspective.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Im not sure i would go that far but im glad your seeing things in a diferent perspective.

No I am mocking your opinion.

 

[apollo179]

When they announce a crackdown on rlj/pavement riding/asls/etc they usually mean they are fining cyclists for RLJs and pavement riding, and giving drivers a stern talking-to for ASL infringements. I've never heard of any cyclist getting pulled for ASL infringements, not least because the law on cyclists entering an ASL on red (you have to use the feeder lane) is quite incredibly stupid and practically nobody even knows it is a law anyway - at least, unless they've done a few RLJ threads on forums like this, where the topic tends to come up at some point.

You would think that for consistency they would give everyone a stern talking to or else give everyone a ticket, but the law on crossing ASLs stop lines in a car is £60 plus 3 points - i.e. the same penalty as you'd get for going straight through the junction - which a lot of coppers feel is excessive for a "victimless crime"

Agreed . Most real world cyclists would be dumbfounded and looking around for jeremy beadle to pop out of the undergrowth if the police fined them for going through a red light.

 

[martint235]

You would think that for consistency they would give everyone a stern talking to or else give everyone a ticket, but the law on crossing ASLs stop lines in a car is £60 plus 3 points - i.e. the same penalty as you'd get for going straight through the junction - which a lot of coppers feel is excessive for a "victimless crime"

The thing with the motorist in the ASL is, I won't say not clear cut, cos it is but put it this way: a motorist can't be done for being in the ASL at a red light. The copper would have to have seen him get there as IIRC there is something about it being ok to stop at the advance line if you couldn't stop at the first line.

Now if you have a policeman stood next to the traffic light at the time (or behind the car in a patrol car) they will have seen the whole episode and can act accordingly.

Right now that's out of the way, I can't believe we're having yet another discussion along the lines of "I'm a cyclist, so long as I don't hurt anyone I should be able to do what I like". £30 way too lenient, £200 and take their bike away if a cyclist runs a red and gets caught.