Speed cams & the law

[pjvenner]

Knew it would happen sooner or later with my scooter-style e-bike but I got my 1st pull last night. Fortunately I was riding on the flat and doing 17MPH (GPS). The cop was nice as pie and let me on my way after I explained that it is just an electrically assisted pushbike.

Earlier on I was going down a steep hill at about 28MPH when the GPS (on a phone mounted with sticky backed velcro) announced "safety camera ahead". I pedalled like f*** and made the GPS speed indicator go red (31MPH) but I didn't get flashed

Has anyone on here successfully tripped a speed camera?

 

[rog_london]

Once, I think, and also a couple of times got a reading from those digital speed indicators.

There isn't usually enough frontal area to trigger one of those or a Gatso (doppler) radar, or enough metal content to trigger the other type which have speed sensors buried in the road.

The Gatso won't usually flash below 35mph since that's the lowest speed which will normally produce a successful conviction for a motor vehicle in a 30 MPH zone.

Of course, if it's a bicycle there is no speed limit, though you can still be done for 'reckless riding' but that's much more difficult and they'd probably have to prove you were endangering someone else. Tearing along the pavement and scattering pedestrians would probably qualify, even if you were doing much less than the speed limit....

Rog.

 

[Scottyf]

there's only one part of my journey i could successfully do it. An there is no camera and to be honest at that speed the bike feels like its going to fall apart. It won't but its not exactly solid like a motorbike.

Would be amusing to see the speed cam go off though

 

[flecc]

No speed camera conviction is possible though. The road speed limits are part of motor vehicle legislation and e-bikes are not classed as motor vehicles.
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[Scottyf]

Not saying a conviction. I said to see one actually take a picture while riding on an ebike.

 

[flecc]

Not saying a conviction. I said to see one actually take a picture while riding on an ebike.

I realised that Scotty, not saying different. Just making the observation about the law for bikes since Rog mentioned the subject of convictions for motor vehicles.
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[stevebills]

There is a flashing 30 MPH sign on a bend near me and it flashes at 25 not 30

 

[Trex 850]

Having changed my tyres from knobbly's to Schwalbe jet city tyres today, noticed just how much easier the bike is to ride- top speed on flat main roads now average 21mph and taking it from the top of Harrow hill, I hit an indicated 37mph past the speed camera !!! - couldn't tell if the flash went off as the sun was really bright.

 

[stevebills]

BBC - Democracy Live - Ten Minute Rule Bill

 

[Trex 850]

No speed camera conviction is possible though. The road speed limits are part of motor vehicle legislation and e-bikes are not classed as motor vehicles.
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The point of me doing this was purely to see what was possible following a tyre change,, it's NOT something I intend to do on a regular basis anyway,,,,,,,,

 

[HarryB]

BBC - Democracy Live - Ten Minute Rule Bill

Not sure what this has to do with breaking the speed limit but it is funny how we accept 80 people killed a year by cars mounting the pavement, then we have ONE case of a rider (where there was no evidence of riding on the pavement) who knocks over a pedestrian and kills her. Now we have a stupid politician who wants a new law to deal with a very sad one-off and very rare accident.

 

[Trex 850]

Just realised when I get my Boardman road comp race bike(non epowered) next thurs, I will have a machine that will easily exceed the uk road speed limit-leg muscles notwithstanding

 

[pjvenner]

Even if they could get a conviction they#d have a hell of a job finding where to send the summons coz we don't have registration plates

 

[flecc]

Not sure what this has to do with breaking the speed limit but it is funny how we accept 80 people killed a year by cars mounting the pavement, then we have ONE case of a rider (where there was no evidence of riding on the pavement) who knocks over a pedestrian and kills her. Now we have a stupid politician who wants a new law to deal with a very sad one-off and very rare accident.

My sentiments too when I saw this.

I suppose in a car driving society the cyclist gets to be the scapegoat*.

* Fall guy for our US members
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[z0mb13e]

BBC - Democracy Live - Ten Minute Rule Bill

What makes me more angry about this than the pointlessness of laws for such rare circumstances (not to make light of the tragic result of the incident quoted in the video, but given that the old law that carried a 2 year gaol term and sounded eminently sensible to me, and would also surely still apply) the fact that these people feel so compelled to clog up the legal system with yet more laws, when the whole thing needs to be simplified and subject to sanity checks is all the more galling when you see that they can do so with only a tiny percentage of our elected representatives present.

I would love to see laws made with the consent of the majority of our government only when every single elected representative has voted on each and every bill proposed.

Perhaps if the proposed bill also implements a clause to charge pedestrians of causing harm to a cyclists by dangerous and careless walking in the road then I might not be so angry about it...

(Sorry - i'll stop ranting now )