Motorists to be fined for driving in cycle lanes

[Mottie]

Yep, another revenue raising move by that mayor Khant and local councils which they will be keen to implement. Here’s another way - fine the cyclists that ride side by side, on pavements and jump traffic lights.

TfL can now issue £160 PCNs to drivers for entering cycle lanes

TfL has taken advantage of new rules introduced earlier this month that allow local authorities to enforce moving traffic offences in their areas.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

 

[Munroast]

all sounds good to me, I like optional taxation.

one point of order though, it is not illegal for cyclists to ride side by side, after all occupants of cars are allowed to sit side by side!

 

[HERTS P&D]

The motorist is a cash cow and always will be.

Andy

 

[ellal]

Really only applicable to UK. For sure in other countries motorists pay, but nut unduly.

Have you seen the speeding fines in parts of Scandinavia?

For example in Finland, speeding fines are linked to salary...

"In 2002, Anssi Vanjoki, a former Nokia director, was ordered to pay a fine of 116,000 euros ($103,600) after being caught driving 75km/h in a 50km/h zone on his motorbike.

And in 2015, Finnish businessman Reima Kuisla was fined 54,000 euro ($62,000) for driving 22km/h over the 50km/h speed limit."

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with measures like this, however there's undoubtedly a longer term strategy to get the masses out of their cars and on to public transport, bikes etc. Funnily enough when I was driving home the other day, it came on really heavy rain. I passed a bus shelter where a man and woman were waiting for a bus. They were huddling under a not very big umbrella. Why? Cause the bus 'shelter' had been vandalised and only had a 1/3 of a roof. Must have been great fun for them reaching their destination soaking. Ah public transport, great stuff.

Anyway I digress.

I imagine one of the downsides of living in a larger town/city (if you enjoy and/or need to use a car) is you're always going to be subject to things like this first. Then eventually some of these measures trickle down to smaller towns if the justification is there. It would be interesting to come back circa 50 years from now to see how things have further changed around driving. I wouldn't be surprised if driving in cities and towns has been banned altogether by then, actually car/vehicle ownership as we know it today might have significantly changed.

All I know is, whether this makes me a nice person (environment wise) or not, I'm pleased that I've been driving for the past 30ish years and have many happy memories of driving where I want, when I want, without things such as speed 'cushions' that make driving oh so enjoyable. Cause I reckon over the next 30 years, driving freedoms as we know them will become ever more restricted.

 

[ETAF]

yep, something i hate is the side by side - on a narrow road .... But it is legal for them to do so
Also cycle lanes are not always possible to leave clear ........

We have lots of delays and long queues , just when One bike is in the very narrow road in a road about 6miles long...
But i notice more riders now side by side and NOT moving over

Our local council , had a proposal for a bike lane OFF the road to go along ALL this road and turned down - Now they are happy approving 1000's of houses on our green fields ,....

Rule 66​

You should

• avoid any actions that could reduce your control of your cycle
• be considerate of the needs of other road users when riding in groups. You can ride two abreast and it can be safer to do so, particularly in larger groups or when accompanying children or less experienced riders. Be aware of drivers behind you and allow them to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when you feel it is safe to let them do so
• not ride close behind another vehicle in case it stops suddenly
• not carry anything which will affect your balance or may get tangled up with your wheels or chain
• be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and horse riders (see Rule H1). Let them know you are there when necessary, for example, by calling out or ringing your bell if you have one. It is recommended that a bell be fitted.

 

[Mottie]

one point of order though, it is not illegal for cyclists to ride side by side, after all occupants of cars are allowed to sit side by side!

Yeah, fair enough but where I live, the country lanes are often packed with cycling groups and they deliberately spread out lengthways and breadthways and block the whole lane causing massive tailbacks as it’s often too dangerous to overtake such a large, spread out group. Wouldn’t take them much to just form a single lane now and then to let motorists pass. When I’m out on my bike and feel that I’m causing a bit of a hold up to traffic, I’ll always slow down, pull right over and wave them past.

 

[Odds]

Yeah, fair enough but where I live, the country lanes are often packed with cycling groups and they deliberately spread out lengthways and breadthways and block the whole lane causing massive tailbacks as it’s often too dangerous to overtake such a large, spread out group. Wouldn’t take them much to just form a single lane now and then to let motorists pass. When I’m out on my bike and feel that I’m causing a bit of a hold up to traffic, I’ll always slow down, pull right over and wave them past.

One of my fondest cycling memories is the huuuuuge jam i caused going up a very steep hill into Chepstow on a rainy day. I was going as fast as i could in low gear and as the road was so narrow the lorry behind couldn't summon up the juice to go by me, resulting in a logjam that took ages to pass once we'd crested the hill.. Nobodies fault; just one of those things.
As for cycling side-by-side people should use common sense to dictate when it's safe to do so.

 

[Dork Lard]

I'm a pedestrian, a cyclist, a motorcyclist & a car + HGV driver. My horse riding days are over but I'm happy to occasionally sit shotgun in the four in hand.

Which parts of me should hate the others???

 

[JohnD]

Dork's trolling is not entertaining.

 

[JohnD]

The motorist is a cash cow and always will be.

Andy

Speeding fines are voluntary. You can choose not to be fined.

In the same way that I have never been sent to prison for bank robbery.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Speeding fines are voluntary. You can choose not to be fined.

In the same way that I have never been sent to prison for bank robbery.

The 'right to speed' attitude of some (many?) is an interesting one. We're disgusted by speed cameras but to a large extent have no reason to be if driving up to (or even a few mph over?) the speed limit.

What annoys me to a large extent is the fact we're not all playing by the same rules. e.g. if you dare to drive at 25mph (and god forbid 20mph) through a 20 zone, it's almost guaranteed you'll have someone up your ar5e and create a tailback. However if you increase your speed to say 30-35mph to keep them happy, will they share the cost of any financial penalty and/or try to get the penalty points transferred from your licence to theirs if you get clocked by a speed camera?

I suspect not.

This is what bugs me about tailgaters (safety issues aside) they're either trying to intimidate you to speed up and/or they're thick and oblivious to what would happen of you had to brake suddenly.

With all this in mind, I'm getting to the stage where it wouldn't bother me if all vehicles were electronically limited speed wise and in terms of how close they can be to the vehicle in front. That way, we'd all be playing by the same rules whether we like it or not.

 

[motorbiking]

Its not illegal to drive or park in a cycle lane that is bordered with a broken white line.

 

[Trazor]

With all this in mind, I'm getting to the stage where it wouldn't bother me if all vehicles were electronically limited speed wise and in terms of how close they can be to the vehicle in front. That way, we'd all be playing by the same rules whether we like it or not.

Generally, that seems a very good idea.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Generally, that seems a very good idea.

I'm actually not averse to trundling through 20 zones at or near 20, it's quite relaxing. However said relaxing drive is soon disrupted by a tw*t who decides to settle 5 feet from your rear bumper ...

Law of averages says some reading this will be guilty of tailgating. Would love to know why they do it.