Right or wrong!

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Melvil

Guest
Right of course - why not?
 

Zoiders

New Member
Wrong

I fail to see what offence they were trying to imply he was commiting

Being drunk in charge of a push bike or drunk and disorderly? being drunk in its self is not an offence, even at the age of 16

I do not recall it being an offence to refuse to provide a sample in either case

Abuse of power IMHO
 

gavintc

Guru
Location
Southsea
Whether it is legal or not, I will leave to the lawyers that inhabit this place. But, using the common sense test, I support the actions of the police. However, I note that his parents are content to allow him to ride a bike with dodgy handlebars.
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
Road Transport Act 1988

30 Cycling when under influence of drink or drugs

(1) A person who, when riding a cycle on a road or other public place, is unfit to ride through drink or drugs (that is to say, is under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the cycle) is guilty of an offence.

(2) In Scotland a constable may arrest without warrant a person committing an offence under this section.

(3) In this section “road” includes a bridleway.

I haven't ever viewed the amendments or rules governing breathaliser etc but always thought it seems pretty ambiguous and potentially unfair (esp when you compare to the highway code).

Edited to say that reading the earlier part of the act, as I suspected the breathaliser refers clearly to motor vehicles. So it would appear to have absolutely no basis in law.
 

Zoiders

New Member
They should have said "we think that bike is unsafe" please dont ride it agian until it fixed

Which is fair enough, using another more agressive angle of enquiry from the word go to try and intimidate him was just plain stupid

Where do they find these dickheads?
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
It's hard to say what was going on or what the Police were intending but it certainly sounds suspicious. I agree very much with Zoiders comments. Also seems a bit dubious to claiming a wobble as the highway code refers to cyclists wobbling naturally so I doubt it'd hold much water.
 
Zoiders said:
They should have said "we think that bike is unsafe" please dont ride it agian until it fixed

Which is fair enough, using another more agressive angle of enquiry from the word go to try and intimidate him was just plain stupid

Where do they find these dickheads?
You were clearly present and in a position to make an accurate judgement then? Or just spouting off the cuff rubbish.
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
Depends chuffy, it certainly sounds reasonably good humoured if they apologised but you can't read much into this. As a ped I used to get picked on regularly by the Police (another one of the many benefits of cycling) and they'd never apologise even when they were bored and it was quite unreasonable to have stopped me, until I showed them my NHS badge once and they were very apologetic and I did that from then onwards.
 

monnet

Guru
I always thought it was an offence to be drunk in charge of a bicycle. If it isn't, it should be. On my commute, especially over the festive period, there are quite often police breathalyser units out checking motorists randomly and I've always been under the impression that I was equally likely to be stopped.

If a car appears to be driven erratically, the first thing I want is for the police to stop it and find out why. I see no reason why the same shouldn't apply to us cyclists.
 
marinyork said:
Depends chuffy, it certainly sounds reasonably good humoured if they apologised but you can't read much into this. As a ped I used to get picked on regularly by the Police (another one of the many benefits of cycling) and they'd never apologise even when they were bored and it was quite unreasonable to have stopped me, until I showed them my NHS badge once and they were very apologetic and I did that from then onwards.
Maybe it's the hoodie and glowing eyes? :smile:

There is nothing in this article (and the description of the apology comes from the lad himself) to suggest that there was anything wrong, or even vaguely wrong, with what happened. The only bit that raises my eyebrows is that someone thought that it was worth going to the local rag with...
 
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