Speeding

[lectureral]

From today's Sun

Cops target speedy cyclists | The Sun |News

Note the misspelling of pedaling in the article.

[rog_london]

Originally Posted by lectureral

From today's Sun

Cops target speedy cyclists | The Sun |News

Note the misspelling of pedaling in the article.

The spell-checker would have been happy with it, though. The Sun has never been noted for its high standards of English.

Some would say your spelling (with one 'l') was the American version, but not I!

Rog.

[lectureral]

Hah - you might be right - I spent some formative years in the States and sometimes find myself on the minority side of preferred spelling (organise/organize is one). Pedaling wins a google fight so, given the predominance of American English, it probably is the US version of the word.

About.com: http://www.googlefight.com/

[AndyOfTheSouth]

The googlefight is cyclists vs sellers. The Sun is wrong in both British and American English!

[flecc]

It's also been shown that these speed measuring guns are very inaccurate at low speeds, hopelessly so at around 10 to 15 mph, and that's when measuring fixed shape cars. With cyclists whose bodies and clothing have fluctuating positions in all planes, an accurate reading is nigh on impossible.
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[Mussels]

Originally Posted by lectureral

From today's Sun

Cops target speedy cyclists | The Sun |News

Note the misspelling of pedaling in the article.

Any chance someone can copy and paste the text in here as I'm not allowed access to the Sun website at work.
The Daily Mail is allowed though and I'm not sure I understand the difference.

[flecc]

Here you are Mussels, with acknowledgments to The Sun:

A FORCE has been blasted for wasting police time and money trying to catch speeding CYCLISTS.

Cops have been assigned to peer out from behind a beach hut clutching hand-held speed cameras in a bid to halt brisk bikers breaking the 10MPH limit along a waterfront promenade.

The operation — which sees a PC clock a speeding rider and radio down to a council "seafront ranger" who stops the cyclist and warns him to slow down — has been slammed as "ludicrous" and "absolutely ridiculous".

Punish

Despite their zealous pursuit, the officials don't even havepowers to punish offenders with fines as cyclists don't have speedometers and so don't know when they break the law.

Instead they are given words of ADVICE and a LEAFLET on the dangers of cycling too fast on the seven mile stretch in Bournemouth, Dorset.

In the first hour of the new cycling crackdown, more than 30 people were caught in the speed trap.

Nick Lomax, a 26-year-old chef who was peddling to work at 16mph, branded the operation a complete waste of time and money.

He said: "I didn't see the police officer at all, he didn't show himself.

"The next minute I was stopped by a council officer who said I had been caught on a speed camera going too fast.

"The weather was bad so the prom was empty. Obviously if it was busier I would have gone a lot slower or even walked with my bike.

"I cycle to work every single day and I think this is absolutely ridiculous. It is a complete waste of time and money.

"The council and the police must have too much time on their hands if they can spend the day on the beach with a speed gun.

"A couple of days ago I had a friend who was beaten up and mugged not far from the prom, that is the sort of thing the police should be spending their time on."

Nick Robinson, 28, said: "I didn't see the police officer or the speed gun at all.

"The first thing I knew I was going too fast was when I was stopped and it was only then that I looked back and saw the policeman behind a beach hut. It is all a bit sneaky."

Claire Armstrong, from the campaign group Safe Speed, said: "This is completely ludicrous and a waste of taxpayers' money.

"It's just nonsense and I think cyclists will show the disrespect that it deserves."

The speed trap has been brought in after a two-year-old girl was struck by a cyclist along Bournemouth seafront last summer, leaving her with a cut to the head.

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Cyclists are currently banned from the area between 10am and 6pm in July and August, when they can be fined if caught on the prom but the 10mph speed limit is permanent.

Charmaine Andrews, spokeswoman for Bournemouth council's leisure services, said: "We have a duty to ensure the promenade is a safe environment for everyone to enjoy.

"It's a joint initiative with the police, involving one police officer and one seafront ranger on each day.

"They will catch any cyclists that are going too fast, give them a safety talk and provide them with a leaflet explaining the bylaws along the seafront.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: "Bournemouth seafront is a very busy area in the summer months and it is essential that members of the public are able to enjoy themselves in safety."
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[Mussels]

Thanks Flecc.

Knowing the beach I can see why it's a problem, similar to the conflicts in London parks. However speeding riders are not the same as reckless riders and targeting a cyclist travelling 15mph on an empty beach is a waste of resources.
I'd expect this kind of problem would be ASBO material rather than trying to force traffic law on a beach, square peg into a round hole with a sledgehammer. Unfortunately it will be easier to ban cycles altogether rather than resolve the problem.

[carpetbagger]

gieven that the majority of bikes don't have cycle computers and it is not a legal requirement,how do people know they are travelling faster than 10mph.

[the_killjoy]

You could use the same argument, re speedos, about cyclists exceeding any other limit 20mph / 30mph etc.