Cyclists on Footpaths!

[Maggie May]

Like some other posters I ride a bike in and out of town as it is quicker than car driving and better healthwise for me and my fellow residents and I save £1,000s per year in parking fees and car costs. Like other posters I follow the Highway code and believe we should all respect each other. The minority of cyclists who behave badly should be dealt with the same way as motorists who break the law. However, perhaps we also need to ask why some cyclists don't follow the Highway code all the time and do things such as ride on the pavement. - a lack of safe segregated cycling infrastructure in Hereford as well as ignorance and little education on how to ride safely.

I am not excusing the cyclist in Colin's video but if  like me you have ever cycled over the old bridge with it's wide pavements and high kerb side car drivers have no room to overtake. These drivers then get frustrated because you are cycling and blocking their route. Cars come up very close behind you, blast their horn at you, etc. and when you are an older lady on a bike that is very intimidating. The same thing as someone else has said is cycling down Belmont Road from the Ruckall junction down to Tescos - I have tried cycling on the very poor surface on a number of times, having to stay away from the gutter to avoid the lethal potholes and all have I have received from motorists is horn blasting and abuse and telling me to "get off the f****** road". This is in the daytime at the weekend not at rush hour. I now cycle on this short stretch of footpath when I am in the area, though I get off if there are any pedestrians on it. I then avoid the rest of Belmont road and join the cycle path behind Belmont because this feels safer and there is space for both cyclists and pedestrians. 

Sadly the Council are spending £millions on new roads for car drivers and yet they have no money to make cycling around Hereford safer - they just put cyclists on the pavement with pedestrians. The new City Link Road is a good example - 4 lanes for vehicles and yet no space for a cycle path in the £30million project. 

[Chris Chappell]

I agree with a great deal of what has been said.

I have asked the police to arrest the drivers coming through the Saxon Gate bus only route, throw the keys away and maybe a child or someone's parents will not be killed or maimed. The signs are perfectly clear, they must have read the Highway Code to pass the driving test, therefore, outwardly perfectly decent men and women are no better than common criminals. Lovely people, have their own businesses, on the PTA, look after their aging parents, lovely kids, but the chance is there to take a short cut and break the law and driving code. Anyone you know!

People complain to me about cars being up for sale by shops in Holmelacy Road. This makes it particularly dangerous as other car drivers come into area only to find there are no spaces. I have done what I can to stop these selfish drivers taking up parking spaces 24/7. Some days I watch and cringe as I watch some pedestrian almost get run over because of car movements in the park. It is still the highway not an area for selling cars! Yet I am sure these people selling their cars are pillars of society who want to imprison law breakers.

Now before you all jump down my throat, the same applies to cyclists who ride along pavements and knock over pedestrians. There does have to be some give and take. How on earth can the cops be on every street you want them to be on? Even before cut backs and when bobbies were in their 'Z' cars in the 60's, they were never on every street booking cyclists or poor drivers.

Cyclists get a bad press largely because they are not driving cars. But with such a poor standard of driving around, drivers being impatient, break and indicator lights not replaced, is it surprising that cyclists use the pavement to ride on. But please, use your breaks and bells.

Now that Holmelacy road has three Tucan crossings, there can be no reason to cross the road several yards from those crossings, can there? Drivers having to jump on breaks, cyclists having to swerve to avoid pedestrian in mid road while the Tucan crossing lights are still on green!!'

So, I have probably managed to offend most of you, that was the intention! We are all guilty of inconsiderate,thoughtless use of the highway, of which the pavements are part. I have constituents across south wye demanding I do something about irresponsible parking. I am, but suspect that when the plans are produced, several will complain about what is being proposed!

We are only ten days away from taking the kids to school by car because we have at least a quarter of a mile to walk. Poor darlings, they get safely closely to the school in the car then run over by a car who is being driven by a parent who is trying to get their child safely to school! When all the time they would have been a lot more healthy walking to school and learning how to respect the highway.

So yes, there is a problem. New restrictions shortly to come in in Belmont Road near shops, but who is going to police them, well all of us can if we drive our car/ bike safely . Not sure how This will all work out but can't see many getting out of their cars to help solve the problem.

But I hope to be proved wrong!!

[Aylestone Voice]

On 24/08/2017 at 20:01, Maggie May said:

Like some other posters I ride a bike in and out of town as it is quicker than car driving and better healthwise for me and my fellow residents and I save £1,000s per year in parking fees and car costs. Like other posters I follow the Highway code and believe we should all respect each other. The minority of cyclists who behave badly should be dealt with the same way as motorists who break the law. However, perhaps we also need to ask why some cyclists don't follow the Highway code all the time and do things such as ride on the pavement. - a lack of safe segregated cycling infrastructure in Hereford as well as ignorance and little education on how to ride safely.

I am not excusing the cyclist in Colin's video but if  like me you have ever cycled over the old bridge with it's wide pavements and high kerb side car drivers have no room to overtake. These drivers then get frustrated because you are cycling and blocking their route. Cars come up very close behind you, blast their horn at you, etc. and when you are an older lady on a bike that is very intimidating. The same thing as someone else has said is cycling down Belmont Road from the Ruckall junction down to Tescos - I have tried cycling on the very poor surface on a number of times, having to stay away from the gutter to avoid the lethal potholes and all have I have received from motorists is horn blasting and abuse and telling me to "get off the f****** road". This is in the daytime at the weekend not at rush hour. I now cycle on this short stretch of footpath when I am in the area, though I get off if there are any pedestrians on it. I then avoid the rest of Belmont road and join the cycle path behind Belmont because this feels safer and there is space for both cyclists and pedestrians. 

Sadly the Council are spending £millions on new roads for car drivers and yet they have no money to make cycling around Hereford safer - they just put cyclists on the pavement with pedestrians. The new City Link Road is a good example - 4 lanes for vehicles and yet no space for a cycle path in the £30million project. 

There will be a shared pedestrian/cycle path on the link road from Aylestone Hill to Edgar Street

[Maggie May]

There will be a shared pedestrian/cycle path on the link road from Aylestone Hill to Edgar Street

 But isn't this what everyone complains about - cyclists and pedestrians on the same footpath? If you look at the City Link Road film along the route some of the residential properties front doors would open straight out onto the footpath. I am not a fast cyclist but imagine someone in a hurry trying to get to the station for a train - they will be going alot faster than a pedestrian. To avoid pedestrians the cyclist then has to cycle in the road and motorists will then complain that the cyclists aren't using the inadequate cycling provision provided. If they cycle on the pavement they pose a risk to pedestrians. This is why new roads are supposed to include safe and segregated cycling infrastructure and with 4 lanes there is certainly the road width to do this. 

[Colin James]

Tonight's criminals

Driving home tonight I passed two cyclists both on the footpaths and both with no lights. 

The first cyclist is a woman riding on the left footpath (coming towards you) just after the car passes the shop on the right, I have slowed the video down but you still may struggle to see her, so if you're struggling to see her so is everyone else...

The second cyclists you will see on the right-hand footpath (coming towards you) just after McDonalds, again you will have to look hard to spot him.

http://www.youtu.be/AIu_QYjXyIU

Ignore the timestamp on the video, it has not been set.

[M. Preece]

Riding on the pavement is bad enough but at night without lights is pretty irresponsible to be honest  

[George Armstrong]

Colin, The guy at the Asda Roundabout sitting on his bike at the Crossing... that's a Pedestrian & Cycle Crossing, and he's doing nothing wrong.

[Colin James]

Colin, The guy at the Asda Roundabout sitting on his bike at the Crossing... that's a Pedestrian & Cycle Crossing, and he's doing nothing wrong.

Yes just read about that in the highway code. I have now removed this as I thought it was illegal, however, the riding on footpaths, ignoring traffic signals and junctions and riding without lights is illegal.

 

 

I missed adding this one from the other night but here is yet another cyclist thought it was okay to ride straight through this red traffic light signal on the narrow bridge.

[Colin James]

Friday morning at 0740 during the first part of the rush hour, this cyclist was riding on the footpath on the left heading north, then he dropped down from the kerb moving in between the cars, then he went straight over the road and mounted the kerb the other side almost collides with the other criminal cyclist coming along the footpath in the other direction. 

 

 

 

Then a few hours later heading north just at the Oval crossing I see this chap, clearly not going to bother using the crossing properly but then decides he is not going to get around the railings so now he will use the road, in the meantime, I will just guess what you are doing.

 

 

 

Later in afternoon at 2pm I had to go the other side of the city to collect some heavy goods and spotted this pavement rider at the same spot, this time on the opposite pavement near the Oval 

 

 

Virtually everytime I am out, I see this happening.

[Paul Jones]

When I was young, the police would stop us and tell us to dismount if we were seen on the footpaths and we were just kids, so they should be saying the same to these adults today. I appreciate what everyone says about motorists but this discussion is about cyclists ignoring the highway code and I agree that they ALWAYS play the victim and portray the motorist as the bad guy. There are many accidents where cyclists are injured and killed by motorists but a lot of these may be caused by the cyclists themselves not abiding by the rules I wonder if anyone thought of that and took that into account with their percentages and figures.

I see many cyclists breaking the law all the time.

[twowheelsgood]

Please stop calling these people criminals - they are not. Cycling on the pavement is not a criminal offence. The Chief Police Officer has the discretion to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) to an offender with a £50 fine. That does not make you a criminal nor give you a criminal record, assuming you pay the fine. Other offences such as riding through red lights also carry a FPN fine. Accepted this is a simple summary of the law and a case may have extenuating circumstances which may make it more serious.

 

FPN Guidance says "The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief Police Officers who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required".

 

The Home Office guidance was re-affirmed in 2014 by the then Cycling Minister Robert Goodwill, who agreed that the police should use discretion in enforcing the law and recommended that the matter be taken up with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). ACPO welcomed the renewed guidance, circulated it to all forces, and issued a statement referring to "discretion in taking a reasonable and proportionate approach, with safety being a guiding principle.

 

Further, the Highway Code is not a legal absolute, it is not of itself a statement of the law, but a combination of both advice and mandatory rules which apply to all road users in the UK.

 

In the interests of balanced reporting, can we have thread titled 'Highway Code Doesn't Apply To Some Motorists Then?.

[ragwert]

When I was young, the police would stop us and tell us to dismount if we were seen on the footpaths and we were just kids, so they should be saying the same to these adults today. I appreciate what everyone says about motorists but this discussion is about cyclists ignoring the highway code and I agree that they ALWAYS play the victim and portray the motorist as the bad guy. There are many accidents where cyclists are injured and killed by motorists but a lot of these may be caused by the cyclists themselves not abiding by the rules I wonder if anyone thought of that and took that into account with their percentages and figures.

I see many cyclists breaking the law all the time.

My younger brother was taken to court aged 10 and fined £5 for cycling on the pavement in Whittern Way.

[K.Butt]

On 29/08/2017 at 10:27, ragwert said:

My younger brother was taken to court aged 10 and fined £5 for cycling on the pavement in Whittern Way.

 

So he committed a crime then? So it is a criminal offence?

[K.Butt]

On 29/08/2017 at 08:52, twowheelsgood said:

Please stop calling these people criminals - they are not. Cycling on the pavement is not a criminal offence. The Chief Police Officer has the discretion to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) to an offender with a £50 fine. That does not make you a criminal nor give you a criminal record, assuming you pay the fine. Other offences such as riding through red lights also carry a FPN fine. Accepted this is a simple summary of the law and a case may have extenuating circumstances which may make it more serious.

 

FPN Guidance says "The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief Police Officers who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required".

 

The Home Office guidance was re-affirmed in 2014 by the then Cycling Minister Robert Goodwill, who agreed that the police should use discretion in enforcing the law and recommended that the matter be taken up with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). ACPO welcomed the renewed guidance, circulated it to all forces, and issued a statement referring to "discretion in taking a reasonable and proportionate approach, with safety being a guiding principle.

 

Further, the Highway Code is not a legal absolute, it is not of itself a statement of the law, but a combination of both advice and mandatory rules which apply to all road users in the UK.

 

In the interests of balanced reporting, can we have thread titled 'Highway Code Doesn't Apply To Some Motorists Then?.

 

Riding on a footpath at night without lights is not a criminal offence?

[ragwert]

So he committed a crime then? So it is a criminal offence?

As I remember he was seen by a woman pc and told to get off the pavement and she caught him again coming back from shops.

Can clearly remember the court summons hand delivered by PC Baker.My brother is 50 this year so this was 40 yrs ago.

[George Armstrong]

It is a criminal offence, albeit not a very serious one. End of.

[twowheelsgood]

Riding on a footpath at night without lights is not a criminal offence?

 

No, it isn't. The offender would still be liable for a Fixed Penalty Fine for riding on a pavement.

[George Armstrong]

Fixed Penalty Notices are disposals for criminal offences. The Road Traffic Acts and other delegated legislative measures are not civil law but create criminal offences.

[H.Wilson]

Fixed Penalty Notices are disposals for criminal offences. The Road Traffic Acts and other delegated legislative measures are not civil law but create criminal offences.

 

Thank you for this clarification, George.

[Colin James]

Today's early morning criminal, this one is brilliant because this cheeky cyclist is even wearing a headcam to catch out other bad road users.

 

 

 

Can anyone justify this manoeuvre? 

[Steve Major]

On 29/08/2017 at 15:40, Colin James said:

Today's early morning criminal, this one is brilliant because this cheeky cyclist is even wearing a headcam to catch out other bad road users.

Can anyone justify this manoeuvre? 

 

OMG, what a complete knob!! I am now starting to understand why the statistics show so many cyclists getting injured or killed by other motorists.

[Colin James]

This evenings footpath cyclist...

 

[megilleland]

In The Guardian today:

 

(extract)

 

Chris Boardman, the former world champion cyclist who won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and several stages of the Tour de France, is avoiding riding on Britain’s roads because he feels they have become too dangerous.

“The roads are statistically safe, but it doesn’t look it and it doesn’t feel it. Now I try to do more of my riding off-road, which is sad,†he told the Guardian in an interview to mark his appointment as the first cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester.

Boardman said he found road riding in parts of the UK “exhausting†and unpleasant. “False modesty aside, I’m about as competent as it gets and I am constantly doing risk assessments. I’m looking at parked cars, seeing which way wheels are turning, everything that’s going on around me. It’s just exhausting. Whereas if I ride on a track or a trail I don’t have to do that and it’s just more pleasant these days,†he said.

Boardman’s mother, Carol, was killed last year while riding her bike in Connah’s Quay, Deeside. For months afterwards, he stopped cycling and has only recently got back in the saddle.

 

If he thinks it's too dangerous to cycle on the roads no wonder we see cyclists on the pavement. The main problems regarding our interactions with other members of society is a total lack of respect and awareness for one another. The "I'm alright Jack" and "What's it got do with you" approach is what typifies present British behaviour whether in cars, on bikes or on foot. It's quite nice to give way once and awhile.

[Colin James]

I have been away on business for a few days however, please find today's footpath friends, look out for the one riding down into the subway even though there is a sign telling cyclists to dismount. 

 

 

 

 

Our subway friendly cyclist

[Colin James]

I have been out of the country for a few weeks hence the lack of photographs, however, these are today's criminals so far and I missed at least 4 others.

 

 

 

[H.Wilson]

It appears to be a regular occurrence, more frequent than I thought to be honest.

[megilleland]

In the Guardian today:

 

(extract)

 

In a statement released by the Department for Transport (DfT), Jesse Norman said it was necessary to make sure that road safety rules kept pace with the use of bikes. “We already have strict laws that ensure that drivers who put people’s lives at risk are punished but, given recent cases, it is only right for us to look at whether dangerous cyclists should face the same consequences. We’ve seen the devastation that reckless cycling and driving can cause, and this review will help safeguard both Britain’s cyclists and those who share the roads with them.â€

The initial part of the process will report in the new year, the DfT statement said. A second phase will consider different ways in which safety can be further improved between cyclists, pedestrians and motorists, covering areas such as rules, public awareness and signs.

Of the 400 or so pedestrians killed on UK roads every year, about one or two on average are struck by bikes. Some campaigners have questioned whether there is an urgent need for a law specifically relating to cyclists given the rarity of such deaths. They also argue that the process would work best as part of a wider examination of road laws and their application, promised by the government in May 2014 but delayed.

[Alex]

I just saw a chap riding his bike no-handed while texting, going along Holmer Rd footpath, unbelievable. 

[Ubique]

I had the privledge of driving down Whitecross Road from the roundabout to Ryland St ( collecting a hedgehog from the Vets ) at 4.30 this afternoon ,plus of course the return stop start journey . At this time I saw a number of cyclists on the pavements travelling at speed in both directions . My concern with cyclists who ride at speed on the pavements is the manner they "creep up " on pedestrians walking on the pavement in the same direction as the cyclist . They pass at speed so close to the pedestrian(s) without any warning - accident / collosion just waiting to happen . I can understand but not condone why they ride in the pavement to get from A to B .

[Colin James]

Lets text and ride on the footpath all at the same time.

 

 

Or we could just ride on the footpath just as it getting dark and without lights