Should cyclists be subject to the same drink laws as drivers when on the roads?

[DRHysted]

At the end of the day, I do not want to share the road with any one who is under the influence, be them in a car, a HGV, or on a 25kg bike.

 

[TheDoctor]

Equally, if Parliament or the Police felt there was a danger posed by drunk cyclists there'd be the power to test for it.
There isn't.
I've never heard of anyone being injured by a drunk cyclist.

 

[Norm]

Careful there or I'll set Claudine on you.

I'd better put the kettle on then.

 

[subaqua]

A driver doesn't have to have the car in motion to be convicted and banned.
Sit behind the wheel of a car, or sit on a motorcycle whilst over the limit, and you run the risk of getting arrested and charged. No risk to anyone else is there in this action but the punishment is still the same.

potential. a lovely little world. and when you are "in drink" your cognitive reasoning goes out the window. therefore the potential ( in risk assesment terms the liklehood )increases.

 

[ufkacbln]

I'd better put the kettle on then.

... and prepare the "Comfy Chair"?

 

[subaqua]

... and prepare the "Comfy Chair"?

I've been rewatching "yes, minister" and i know that the chair will be anything but comfy .

a courageous decision

 

[Linford]

potential. a lovely little world. and when you are "in drink" your cognitive reasoning goes out the window. therefore the potential ( in risk assesment terms the liklehood )increases.

It would be an automatic 12 month ban for sitting on a motorcycle whilst over the limit on a public highway. The same would be applicable if it were in motion. Same applies to a car driver. Have a skinful and decide to sleep it off in a car outside the pub but climb into the drivers seat instead of any of the others and you are risking a ban/fine/etc. Points stay on the license for 10 years also for D/D offences.

This offence will of course have the stigma, and insurance penalties which go with it.

 

[Linford]

You almost manage to make it sound as though the person is a victim of something here.

I have no sympathy for someone who gets caught driving under the influence.

However, the tarrif of sentencing doesn't work on potential, but of committing a specific offence - even when they may have not actually started the engine and moved the wheels (so not actually becoming a danger to themselves or anyone else)

Is that clear ?

 

[Linford]

Carry a knife but don't stab anyone. Crime or not crime?

Posession is an offence

 

[400bhp]

I have no sympathy for someone who gets caught driving under the influence.

However, the tarrif of sentencing doesn't work on potential, but of committing a specific offence - even when they may have not actually started the engine and moved the wheels (so not actually becoming a danger to themselves or anyone else)

Is that clear ?

There's a good reason why there isn't a difference between sitting behind a wheel and starting a car vs driving it.

Clear intent.

 

[Linford]

There's a good reason why there isn't a difference between sitting behind a wheel and starting a car vs driving it.

Clear intent.

The problem is that when someone has decided to sleep off a few jars instead of risking driving home, their judgment to not drive at that point may be right, but the execution is impaired. They may not have the wherewithal to figure that sitting in a driving seat is as good as actually driving when intoxicated in the eyes of the law.

 

[400bhp]

The problem is that when someone has decided to sleep off a few jars instead of risking driving home, their judgment to not drive at that point may be right, but the execution is impaired. They may not have the wherewithal to figure that sitting in a driving seat is as good as actually driving when intoxicated in the eyes of the law.

Tough titties. I've amended what you said above below:

The problem is that when someone has decided to sleep off have a few jars instead of risking driving home, their judgment to not drive at that point may be right, but the execution is impaired. They may not have the wherewithal to figure that sitting in a driving seat is as good as actually driving is wrong when intoxicated in the eyes of the law

Same basis of argument - poor mitigation though isn't it.

 

[Linford]

So don't put yourself in the risk position. Especially the nonsensical sitting on the motorbike but not intending to ride it position.

The same actually applies if you were just pushing it. Motorcycles are subject to the same laws whether riding under power or not.

In recent information that we have seen, and originally obtained under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, Gloucester City Council have stated that a total of 23,975 drivers have been issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN) at Llanthony Bridge since July 2010. We are concerned that many of these drivers were visitors to Gloucester who won't bother visiting the City again after their expensive and probably unintentional mistake.
Locals get caught too though. In fact, a motorcyclist who pushed his motorbike across the bridge received a fine, so please do not take any risks!

http://www.gloucester.co.uk/july2011/save-yourself-sixty-pounds-bridge-fine

 

[Linford]

And how often has this offence been prosecuted and convicted under this circumstance? No anecdotes please, if you could report back once you have done the research I would be grateful.

The same applies if you are pushing a motorcycle - you have to wear a crash helmet. I had a plod pull me up on this years ago as a teenager when I ran out of fuel on a motorbike and was pushing it on the pavement with the lid off. - told to wheel it on the road or else he would be taking it further - was a taliban type though. The law is there to enforce at the end of the day.

 

[Linford]

What is the point you are making here? You appeared to be pushing a hard done by motorist, can't even get pissed and sleep it off in the car line. Now it is about wheeling a bike on the pavement. Can you at least try to identify what it is you want to say and then try to stick to that? Otherwise it is all just a load of semi-coherent random bollocks.

The point being made is that you are not allowed to be in control of a car or motorcycle under any circumstance if under the influence. It isn't random bollocks.it is applicable law.
As a cyclist, you and I have very little regulation on our movement on the highways - pissed or not, and if you were to wheel your cycle home after a night in the pub, you don't run the risk of getting arrested for it, so stop whingeing that motorists get a soft time where the laws are concerned.