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Highway code changes

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as regard cycling on pavements ebikes would be under a different category surely, being motorised, if accident big trouble, maybe i am wrong
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But remember,if on the pavement - RIDE WITH DUE CARE AND ATTENTION. Its not a racetrack.

 

You don't know SW then ???

Does giving way to pedestrians apply at traffic light junctions. I know some have lights to control the pedestrians but a lot do not.

Does giving way to pedestrians apply at traffic light junctions. I know some have lights to control the pedestrians but a lot do not.

 

A good question but generally one would say no if the lights are green but if a ped is already transiting such a said junction then yes. Green is only an indication to go if safe to do so and the way is clear, most think it is an absolute right to keep going.

 

A couple of hundred yards from my house the carriage way enters a single lane tunnel controlled by lights, cycling through on a Green and the light's timing delay is way out. By the time I 've exited, the other end has already changed to Green and the cars have to wait. I would have to be doing 20mph to clear the lights before they change, I think there is an allowance that lights like these in case must allow a cyclist travelling at 12mph to safely pass through so the delay obviously isn't set correctly.

as regard cycling on pavements

I also like to smirk at drivers stuck in traffic as i breeze by. Or full nonchalant expression with a smidgen of smugness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

move or be destroyed :p

JESUS CHRIST!! What motor is that ?. Jumbo jets are quieter :oops:

Edited by AndyBike

Ashley Neal(driving instructor), is covering this topic on Youtube, he is truly an advocate for safer roads and offers various sage insights to the highway code revision with logical discussions and real world examples, I have learnt a lot and I haven't even been approved for a provisional yet.

as regard cycling on pavements ebikes would be under a different category surely, being motorised, if accident big trouble, maybe i am wrong

 

Not so, a legal pedelec is a bicycle in law, expressly exempt from being a motor vehicle in the two and three wheeled motor vehicle type approval law 137/2013 under the section 2/2 (h) exemption.

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A good question but generally one would say no if the lights are green but if a ped is already transiting such a said junction then yes. Green is only an indication to go if safe to do so and the way is clear, most think it is an absolute right to keep going.

 

I have to cross a few side roads that are traffic light controlled but have no pedestrian lights, also the lights are shielded against the sun, so making it impossible to see their colour from the side.

So, in theory, when the traffic is stationary the lights must be red & it should be safe to cross, however the drivers are looking up at the lights & not down at who is crossing in front, so several times I have had to sound my horn to avoid being run over.

so i can ride in the middle of the road yet cant use the motorway :rolleyes:

 

Yes you can ride on the motorway in Britain if your e-bike is capable of being powered above 28 mph to 30 mph or more as you say it is, and you are over 24 years. It's then in law a motorcycle class moped. It falls into the L3 type approval class and the appropriate A1 sub category, like a 125cc light motorcycle ridden by any over 24 year old with a full licence.

 

Of course you'll still get nicked for not being registered, plated and insured etc, etc., not to mention all the aggro you'll cause at 30 mph in the slow lane !

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Buses are at the end, but I place them ahead of cars and will continue to.

 

I would concur that more priority should be given to buses over cars and indeed where I live and cycle (Cardiff) there are quite a few combination bus and cycle lanes allocated.

 

But therein is a problem, these lanes are to give priority to buses (and cycles and taxis) but they are so narrow that the only safe way for a cyclist to use them is to cycle in the middle and block the bus. Cycle just out from the kerb and the bus behind you will try to get past, been close to dead a couple of times with that strategy.

Sadly the due care and attention is the bit many drivers fail to comprehend and I can foresee accident rates that may rise, speed at and approaching junctions the main culprit reducing ability to react in a safe manner. The rules are good for vulnerable users but educating motorists will be the hard part.

A lot of motorists often say they are cyclists as well, however behind the wheel few use there cyclists brain and too easily revert to the normal road mentality of having to pass or be ahead so as not to be inconvenienced.

This from The Mirror today... a lot to take in, but seems a good summary:

 

Highway Code changes for cyclists - important new rules for those on bikes (msn.com)

 

A good summary of the changes, but little will change. Many cyclists will know the new rules but drivers won't since almost none of them will read the new highway code.

 

Perhaps the driver as well as the vehicle should be included in the annual MOT to see if they are up to date and roadworthy as well.

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Near me there are some cyclist boxes at traffic light controlled junctions, often a car will be parked with in this zone so any cyclist cannot enter it or safely exit said junction as his/her way is blocked. They are there to give cyclists priority without being intimidated. This is a traffic offence and is dealt with by a fine and 3 points on a licence, issue is rarely do we have any enforcement of this rule/law due to lack of policing.

Maye it is time we got our cameras out to upload these traffic offences online to the local police website so they cna be dealt with.

The AA found less the 30% of respondents questioned new of the updates to come.

The hate filled tabloid readership are now dragging out the case of the cyclist (Charlie Alliston)who knocked down and killed a pedestrian(Kim Briggs). As if 1 every 5 years or so is some sort of indication of how dangerous cyclists are. Completely ignoring of course the 5 motorized vehicles kill every single day.

 

Although a tragedy,as every untimely death is, the prosecution of the offender was completely over the top, especially knowing as we do how many cyclists are killed and the driver gets off with a ban and a fine.

 

The prosecution in that case listed the cyclists riding as wanton and furious. It was judged he was riding at between 10-18mph

Speed limit on that road was 30mph, and he's probably doing half that and the law classes this as wanton and furious.

It is odd that the law has given Ebikes the maximum speed of 15.5 mph, which fits into the middle of the wanton and furious claim. So according to the prosecution, I or anyone, using an Ebike, riding at the government set limit of 15.5mph is riding in a wanton and furious manner.

One would think the Daily Hate cyclist's paper ake the Daily Fail may be one such paper. They have a track record for demonising cyclists with their hatred.

Edited by Nealh

The hate filled tabloid readership are now dragging out the case of the cyclist (Charlie Alliston)who knocked down and killed a pedestrian(Kim Briggs). As if 1 every 5 years or so is some sort of indication of how dangerous cyclists are. Completely ignoring of course the 5 motorized vehicles kill every single day.

 

Although a tragedy,as every untimely death is, the prosecution of the offender was completely over the top, especially knowing as we do how many cyclists are killed and the driver gets off with a ban and a fine.

 

The prosecution in that case listed the cyclists riding as wanton and furious. It was judged he was riding at between 10-18mph

Speed limit on that road was 30mph, and he's probably doing half that and the law classes this as wanton and furious.

It is odd that the law has given Ebikes the maximum speed of 15.5 mph, which fits into the middle of the wanton and furious claim. So according to the prosecution, I or anyone, using an Ebike, riding at the government set limit of 15.5mph is riding in a wanton and furious manner.

 

Yes the tabloid readership might be hate filled and biased, but we have to be careful not to be the same.

 

In the Alliston case the only reason that the charge mentioned "wanton and furious" was that the law on cycling has never been brought up to date so a historic charge was used. Be careful what you wish for, modernised charges might well be tougher since cyclists on the whole are very far from being angels.

 

As the judge stated, the prime reason for Alliston's conviction and imprisonment was that instead of slowing and if necessary stopping, he shouted a warning to the woman expecting her to get out of the way. She misunderstood and stepped the wrong way and was hit and killed. His shouted warning was completely contrary to law which makes all vehicle operators responsible for avoiding collision, aural warnings like horns and bells as a warning of approach are only a courtesy and have no force in law.

 

Again as the judge said, Alliston's total failure to express any remorse compounded his offence.

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As the judge stated, the prime reason for Alliston's conviction and imprisonment was that instead of slowing and if necessary stopping, he shouted a warning to the woman expecting her to get out of the way.

So something like a car horn equivalent.

Had he a bell instead I think the prosecution would have went through the exact same way.

So something like a car horn equivalent.

Had he a bell instead I think the prosecution would have went through the exact same way.

 

No, not a car horn equivalent.

 

The point I and indeed the judge made is that NO sound warning is a legal excuse in a collision. Shouts, bells and horns are no excuse.

 

The responsibility on all vehicle operators is to stop in time to avoid a collision. Alliston made no attempt to slow or stop and fully deserved his punishment.

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Alliston wasn't even on an ebike, he simply didn't have a front brake on his fixie meaning the bike even though a pedal only bike was still illegal. That didn't go unnoticed and added to the lack of not being able to stop or brake in time.

Alliston wasn't even on an ebike, he simply didn't have a front brake on his fixie meaning the bike even though a pedal only bike was still illegal. That didn't go unnoticed and added to the lack of not being able to stop or brake in time.

 

He didn't have a rear brake either. In law a bicycle must have two sufficient acting independent brakes, a fixie rear wheel doesn't begin to qualify as a brake so he had no brakes.

 

Alliston's attitude to the law and human life was appalling, so to say his prosecution was completely over the top is very wrong. We cannot allow people to kill through their own gross irresponsibility and then blame the victim for their death for not leaping out of the way quickly enough.

 

This post of mine in 2020 is relevant.

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Edited by flecc

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