Cyclists on pavements, do police really care?

McBain said:
That's not restricted to cyclists, I get the same out running as well. Not sure why, but a group of clowns in a car always find it funny to call you a 'Masterbater' as they drive past in their souped up 106 because you're out for a run/cycle.

Never understood that one.
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just look at it this way, next set of traffic lights, free wingmirror! :D
 
cheesyboy said:
The sort of accidents a helmet provides protection in, aren't usually the sort of accidents involving a car. It only really protects in low-impact situations (like falling off your bike). Think about karate proponents chopping tiles -

A study a couple of years ago noted that cars drive closer to cyclists who wear a helmet (drivers, presumably, feeling helmet-wearers are less of a risky overtake) - suggesting they would actually have a negative safety impact.
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i cant imagine going 30mph on a bike without a chin bar as part of the helmet.


hit it hard and you go straight through; hit it gently and the tile stops your hand.
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helmets have nothing to do with going through they're expanded polystyrene (packing foam) the idea is they crush and delay the rate of energy transfer to your skull so it doesn't crack.

the hard outer shell is mainly there for abrasion resistance/to protect the foam in day to day use.
 
Vinno said:
On the extremely rare occasion that I ride my bike I won't hesitate to use the pavement if I'm riding through a dodgy bit of road. Id rather people think I'm a knob than get stuck under the wheels of a Lorry.
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I do the same. My wakeup call came when I was cycling round a roundabout (daylight, wearing a bright green jacket) and a car just pulled out and if I'd been going a tad faster he'd have run into me - as it happens, I ran into the side of him. I realised that I'd much rather break the law than end up with a broken neck, and I don't care what any policemen might say about it (not that anyone's ever said anything to me). There are certain roundabouts and stretches of road that I cycle past on the pavement now, and I don't see a problem with that - I keep to a reasonable speed and slow right down when I'm going past pedestrians. As long as you cycle sensibly, I really don't think that cycling on the pavement puts pedestrians in danger.
 
Another group I find pretty annoying is runners/joggers, or whatever you call them. I think these are more dangerous than those who ride bikes on pavements (mostly).

The amount of times I've seen them just jogging up to a traffic light and with no real sense, just jog across the road because it's clear for that brief second. The lights could latterly just be changing and they still try to get across. How hard is it to wait or even just jog on the spot?

Then the group joggers that take up the whole pavement and have no intention on moving out of the way or slowing the pace just to pass you.
 
Steampunk said:
Driving a few miles over the limit is a straw man argument. Even road safety and police numbers show that speed is rarely a cause in accidents. No one cares if a cyclist is over the speed limit by a few mph. Driving a little over the speed limit is in no way equivalent to driving on pavements and going through red lights or pedestrian only zones - and you know it.
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So speeding isn't always breaking the law? Whereas someone cycling on a pavement is always wrong?

The second quote I provided showed a figure describing the fairly significant number of motorists that go through red lights and another stat someone else provided shows more people are killed by cars on pavements.

Personally I'm an advocate of 20mph zones on most residential roads as on residential roads speed kills...
 
Tombstone said:
Some things are just too commonplace to get a significant hold of I would imagine.

Take for instance my local motorway, the M27. I drive that motorway daily and I am sometimes convinced that I am the only person on the motorway who is driving at 70 or under. Every day I see thousands of drivers screaming along on it at 90+ mph and often at 100 (usually someone in a shiny, super clean 4x4 for some reason). Now, I would imagine a member of the police could be on that motorway and probably catch a few thousand people driving at excessive speeds every day, hell...every hour ! , but whats the point really. Its so rife along that stretch of road that they would be just addressing 0.00000001% of the problem. Better they instead spent their time stopping violent crime.
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Or speeding where it matters more, which is why most speed cameras are in accident black spots.
 
Usually out this way the cyclists use the road even after having a cycle path built for them wider than the actual road.... cops aren't bothered about this either
 
Burnsy2023 said:
Mobile phone and seatbelts are different. Many officers I know are quite hot on this, but the problem, especially with phones, is vast.
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out of curiosity, burnsy if the police were sent footage from a helmet cam when over taking a car showing the license plate then showing the driver on the phone as you look in to the drivers side mirror would they be able to do anything about it?
 
The only time I've ever seen the police care about cyclists on the pavements are around Buckingham Palace and it's perimeter.
 
Tefal said:
out of curiosity, burnsy if the police were sent footage from a helmet cam when over taking a car showing the license plate then showing the driver on the phone as you look in to the drivers side mirror would they be able to do anything about it?
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Would they? Depends on force. In Hampshire it'd go to RPU and I don't know how they handle jobs like this, but as long as they have a clear shot they could do some enquiries.

If you have helmet cam footage and decide to report it, I'd be interested in your experience.
 
On my way to work theres a place where the police like to stop (probably ANPR related) right across from 2 big businesses where the staff leave en mass at 4pm on the dot from both meaning as many as 2 dozen cyclists using the pavement (90% don't use the road) never seen the police bat an eyelid.

To be fair I've never seen a single one of them ride along that stretch in an inconsiderate manner and I wouldn't want to cycle on that bit of the main road either as most drivers use it pretty badly.
 
Not sure I'd have much sympathy for the cyclist - you can't really have enough awareness on a bike going those speeds in those kind of built up/traffic conditions - your going to be taking some chances.
 
Rroff said:
Not sure I'd have much sympathy for the cyclist - you can't really have enough awareness on a bike going those speeds in those kind of built up/traffic conditions - your going to be taking some chances.
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you'd need eyes in the back of your head to see morons like that.
 
Rroff said:
Not sure I'd have much sympathy for the cyclist - you can't really have enough awareness on a bike going those speeds in those kind of built up/traffic conditions - your going to be taking some chances.
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Ummm people on motorbikes manage just fine and you still get idiots doing exactly the same thing if they think they can squeeze into the gap next to you.
 
I cycle on the pavement sometimes, what is the big deal?

I don't go fast and the reason I cycle on the pavement is I'm **** scared of the traffic in Leeds.... I've almost been knocked over by a van multiple times so when I'm in the centre I hate cycling in the road.
 
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