| Re: Cycling wrong way up one way street |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Group: uk.transport · Group Profile
Author: The LuggageThe Luggage Date: May 16, 2008 04:34
On 16 May, 09:33, "Mortimer" privacy.net> wrote:> "judith" live.co.uk> wrote in message
>
> news:4pgq249vvetqf3q0inbus4ff4nhevd2n48@4ax.com...
>>> Is it illegal for a cyclist to walk against the traffic in a one way
>> street?
>
>> If not - why not do that - in my experience very few one way streets
>> are of such a length to make this prohibitive time wise.
>
> There is a marked cycle route (the sort with a number that appears on
> cycling maps and on little plates along the route) which at one point
> directs cyclists the wrong way up a one-way street near where I live.
> There's a sign "Cyclists Dismount" as you turn onto the one-way street. This
> suggests that while cycling against the flow of traffic is illegal (and
> dangerous when cars aren't expecting anything coming towards them), walking
> your bike, either on the road or the pavement, is not illegal.
(posting from uk.rec.cycling) IANAL...
My recollection is that this is one of several areas in traffic law
where the exact circumstances and lots of apparently contradictory
case law would determine the outcome of any action.
From memory, case law allows you to walk with a bicycle across a road
using a zebra crossing and be afforded all the rights of a pedestrian.
Something about a bicycle being a normal accompanyment for a
pedestrian, just like a pram.
On the other hand, you can be prosecuted for getting off your bike and
pushing it past a red traffic light as you are still traffic for this
purpose. This is unless you lift the bike off the ground, at which
point it transmutes into a package, not a means of transport.
For the specific situation mentioned, it seems likely that pushing a
bike through the no-entry signs and along the one way street is
probably legal, but I certainly wouldn't bet any money on it without
consulting a specialist lawyer, or Mr Loophole Freeman...
TL
| 
