Advocacy & Safety - Stick to the cycle paths

in the UK at least:
http://www.bikebiz.com/newsitem.php?id=24246

Brief summary: A cyclist was fined £300 (about US$550) for 'inconsiderate cycling' for using the middle of his lane instead of the adjoining cycle path.

I am very uncomfortable with this decision as using the road instead of the cycle path is something i do twice a day on my commute. The path on my journey is not wide enough in places for two cycles to pass and receives no maintainence meaning parts of it resemble no more than a gravel track.

in the UK at least:
http://www.bikebiz.com/newsitem.php?id=24246

Brief summary: A cyclist was fined £300 (about US$550) for 'inconsiderate cycling' for using the middle of his lane instead of the adjoining cycle path.


I really wish someone would show me how this treatment of cyclists amounts to something better than intimidation and evil discrimination. At least the judge who issued the fine is on the fringes, and this act is not thought to set a precedent.

I hope this cyclist gets his fair day in court.

I've been following this case on the Cycling Plus forum and on uk.rec.cycling, the USENET newsgroup. The judge seemed to be making up his own rules as he goes along, and he seems to have a pretty substantial bias against cyclists, among other issues.

I like having the option of choosing between the bike path and the road, I think every responsible cyclist should have that option, and I hope this kind of judicial stupidity doesn't spread to the US. The Cycle Touring Club is helping with the cost of this cyclist's defense through their defense fund, but apparently going to court in the UK is at least as expensive as going to court in the US. I've made a small donation to the CTC Defense Fund, I encourage others on this forum to do the same. Maybe if the British judiciary find out that their antics are drawing international attention then they'll reconsider their behavior.
http://www.cyclistsdefencefund.org.uk/

I've been following this case on the Cycling Plus forum and on uk.rec.cycling, the USENET newsgroup. The judge seemed to be making up his own rules as he goes along, and he seems to have a pretty substantial bias against cyclists, among other issues.

I like having the option of choosing between the bike path and the road, I think every responsible cyclist should have that option, and I hope this kind of judicial stupidity doesn't spread to the US. The Cycle Touring Club is helping with the cost of this cyclist's defense through their defense fund, but apparently going to court in the UK is at least as expensive as going to court in the US. I've made a small donation to the CTC Defense Fund, I encourage others on this forum to do the same. Maybe if the British judiciary find out that their antics are drawing international attention then they'll reconsider their behavior.
http://www.cyclistsdefencefund.org.uk/

Were lucky it can't happen here. You might get ticketed by your city cop but unless the state gives the city the legal right to enforce laws restricting cyclists or your state law says you must use them when provided its not something that will hold up in court.
Go to court and watch as the ticket is tossed out.

No city i ohio can even have such laws on the books any more heheh

Does Britain have a process for removing incompetent judges from office?

We have a bizarre law which says that motorists may cross a double white line (road centre) to overtake a cyclist who is doing 10mph or less. This rider was doing 30mph (downhill) so drivers could not legally overtake him, so, according to the arresting officer, he was causing an obstruction. He was told he should have been riding in the cycle lane.

There was no cycle lane, merely a white line a couple of feet from the road edge, designed to indicate where the edge was. There was, however, a shared use ped/cycle path on the opposite side of the road, which Judge Morgan said he should have used, instead of obstructing motorists.

The speed limit on the road is 60mph and the stretch concerned is 0.59km long (645 yds), so the max holdup would have been 44sec(bike) minus 22 sec (car).

Judge Morgan is notorious for dismissing a case against a police officer, who, without authorisation from a senior officer, decided to drive a police pursuit car at 159mph (max 70) on a motorway and 80mph in a 30mph area, arguing that he needed to try the car out at 3am when it was safe. The judges decision was reversed on appeal.

The judge is a pillock

Were lucky it can't happen here. You might get ticketed by your city cop but unless the state gives the city the legal right to enforce laws restricting cyclists or your state law says you must use them when provided its not something that will hold up in court.
Go to court and watch as the ticket is tossed out.

No city i ohio can even have such laws on the books any more heheh
The problem is that there is no law restricting cyclists to cycle paths here, which is why this case is so important. Although it won't set a legal precedent, as such, if the cyclist does not get justice under appeal there is no reason that the same set of circumstances couldn't lead to the same result in future.


Markf - on behalf of British cyclists, thank you very much for your support.