What hope is there for cyclists?

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BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Crankarm, how exactly is the highway code law? What is the name and date of the act?

As for commenting on typos - that means you've already lost.
 
Jaguar said:
My OH is a constant offender: speeding especially. He's had 2 tickets in 6 months, and even though I was hit by a car (driver "didn't see" me) last year, he doesn't change :sad:
He has an expensive hands-free jobby, and uses the phone constantly because he is bored. His attention is definitely elsewhere when he's on the phone: if he calls me and I know he's driving, I tend to hang up and say I'll talk later.

I always wonder what that is about...some people at work just seem to have a phone glued to their ear all the time.Very unsociable and sometimes I just don't bother saying hello if it's like that because I have been ignored in the past.Yes I have a phone but I mainly use it for work and it has to be off otherwise I would get the sack...Allowed to use it in an emergency though.
 

GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
BentMikey said:
Teh highway code isn't law either. Arch is exactly right, IMO.
+1

Crankarm said:
Congratulations BM you are wrong, again :sad:.
So another 'experienced' cyclist who needs to properly acquaint them selves with the highway code..
Directgov http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070236 said:
Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’. In addition, the rule includes an abbreviated reference to the legislation which creates the offence. An explanation of the abbreviations can be found in 'The road user and the law'.

Although failure to comply with the other rules of the Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, The Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under the Traffic Acts (see 'The road user and the law') to establish liability. This includes rules which use advisory wording such as ‘should/should not’ or ‘do/do not’.
To paraphrase this: The HWC is a statement of law and best practice. It may be sighted in court to define expected behaviour
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
GrasB said:
+1


So another 'experienced' cyclist who needs to properly acquaint them selves with the highway code..

To paraphrase this: The HWC is a statement of law and best practice. It may be sighted in court to define expected behaviour

Uhhhh...!!!????

You very successfully contradict yourself GrasB - agreeing with BM, but then agreeing with me that is a statement of law in that it can be cited in court. You even copy the piece that states that road users can be prosecuted for breaking it's rules ......... :smile:. It must be painful sitting on that fence :smile:.
 

Mark_Robson

Senior Member
IMO the highway code like any other approved code is simply an easy to understand explanation of a set of regulations or an act. An ACOP may not be legally binding as such but the regulations or act that it interprets certainly are.
 

Dan B

Disengaged member
You can't be prosecuted for breaking HC rules. You can be prosecuted for committing a motoring offence. Some HC rules (the ones with CAPITALS) are backed by specific motoring offences, some are not. Some motoring offences (e.g. "careless driving" or "dangerous driving") are quite broad in scope and depend on the prosecution proving that the standard of conduct fell below "reasonable" - in these cases they may well refer to the HC rules to explain what the "reasonable" standard is. But the simple fact that there is an HC rule relating to some behaviour does not automatically mean that behaviour is forbidden/required by law: the decision will be made on a broader overall picture.
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
The HC is law. Some rules are mandatory such as speed limits and mandatory road signs, some road markings eg double white lines, box junctions and double yellow lines and then there are traffic signals, others are merely advisory in nature, but it is still an authoritative statement of the law. Cyclecraft is not.
 

Mark_Robson

Senior Member
Where's Vike when you need him. :bicycle:
 

GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
Crankarm said:
Uhhhh...!!!????

You very successfully contradict yourself GrasB - agreeing with BM, but then agreeing with me that is a statement of law in that it can be cited in court. You even copy the piece that states that road users can be prosecuted for breaking it's rules ......... :smile:. It must be painful sitting on that fence :bicycle:.
Now some parts of the HWC are a statement of legal requirements, however others are simply recommendations of best practice. While not following that best practice is not illegal in its self the fact you didn't follow best practice has led to an incident is something to be taken into consideration.
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Crankarm said:
The HC is law. Some rules are mandatory such as speed limits and mandatory road signs, some road markings eg double white lines, box junctions and double yellow lines and then there are traffic signals, others are merely advisory in nature, but it is still an authoritative statement of the law. Cyclecraft is not.


Wrong. It is not law. Are you missing a bit of CLUE?

Neither the highway code nor cyclecraft are law, but they both often describe traffic law, and explain expected and best practice behaviour on the roads.
 
Location
EDINBURGH
NigC said:
Ah forget it. I just thought you guys might be interested in making it a little safer for future cyclists by highlighting the dangers we face. But clearly you're all just interested in bitching about how you've been wronged by motons. That's fine by me, have a safe journey in your own little personal worlds :bicycle:

Have you ever ridden a pedal cycle on the roads? I rarely have any issue with car drivers other that dingbat yoofs in Corsas with beancan exhausts, who like to beep their horns a lot, due to some genetic disorder they have inherited from their scum parents.
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
BentMikey said:
Wrong. It is not law. Are you missing a bit of CLUE?

Neither the highway code nor cyclecraft are law, but they both often describe traffic law, and explain expected and best practice behaviour on the roads.

Continue in your ignorance, why change over something so fundamental? ....... :biggrin:.
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
I try to reduce my level of ignorance every day, but here I'm not the one confounding intimidation with actual danger, nor law with guidance. :biggrin:
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Whether the HC is law or not is a red herring. The point about Cyclecraft isn't that it's the law, it's that it suggests useful ways to behave to increase your safety. You said yourself, Crankarm, a lot of it is common sense.

Would you rubbish a cookery book because it isn't the law? Or a carpentry manual? They are just the same - aids to doing something well.
 
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