Jeremy Vine caught speeding (on a Bicycle)

Well he was clocked by police (with a speed gun!!) doing sixteen miles anhour in a five miles an hour Zone. the only trouble is that there was no speed signs (so he says). I dont know if he received a ticket or not:suspect:

He won't.

I looked up the Road Traffic Act

Reading the act, it appears to apply because it's a public area. But equally, since cycles are not "motorised vehicles", speed limits do not apply.

Also, if you had a motorised vehicle in that park, there would be no order for a speed limit in place. So whilst you'd be breaking many parts of the act, speeding would not be one of them I suspect.

Whatever 'speed limit' exists in that park, is not one covered by the RTA (I suspect)...

Interesting points about it here

http://www.astounding.org.uk/ian/cyclelaw/speed_limits.html

Particularly this

"However, The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces (Amendment) etc. Regulations 2010 include a definition of vehicle that applies only to motor vehicles, here, suggesting that everything which applied to all vehicles in the royal parks SIs now only applies to motor vehicles. Thus, speed limits would not apply to bicycles in royal parks, just as they do not in general elsewhere. "

Assuming that Hyde Park is a Royal Park. (It is, I checked that as well).

There may well be a bye-law restricting speed to 5mph. But it isn't enforceable by the RTA, so he won't get a ticket, or indeed any punishment.

I don't really see why the police are wasting their time in a park, they have better things to do than to sour relations with the public in this way.

---------- Post added 20-11-2014 at 14:15 ----------

Enforcement of byelaws[edit]

Breaches of byelaws are prosecuted in a magistrates' court. The punishment is a fine, the maximum being generally between £500 and £2,500.[2]

From

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byelaws_in_the_United_Kingdom

---------- Post added 20-11-2014 at 14:16 ----------

Royal Park Bye-Laws

https://www.pnld.co.uk/docportal/content/@1241.htm

---------- Post added 20-11-2014 at 14:18 ----------

And finally (I hope)

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1194/pdfs/uksi_20101194_en.pdf

Speeds at which a vehicle may be driven or ridden on a Park road

1. On a Park road in The Green Park, Hyde Park (other than the Serpentine Road), St

James’s Park or The Regent’s Park, at a speed not exceeding 30 mph.

According to that, the speed limit in Hyde Park is 30 mph.

I don't really see why the police are wasting their time in a park, they have better things to do than to sour relations with the public in this way.

The police will jump at any opportunity to make themselves look like a bunch of petty, useless jobsworths - you know that!?!

The met certainly will. He's lucky he wasn't shot or kettled or just assaulted tbh.

I wonder if they were there because of complaints about speeding cyclists? but has been said the limit does not apply to unpowered vehicles. Umm with the rise of electric bikes i bet it wont be long before some sort of restriction is put in place. I know that your limited to a certain power to weight ratio already. Which is a shame. the more people that are on bikes can only be for the good.

I wasn't there, so don't know the detail. but my gut reaction is I wish he had got done. A 5mph speed limit would suggest its primarily a pedestrianised area. So there could be jaywalkers, young children, dogs on leads, etc. 16mph is not appropriate where you get those sorts of users - cyclists should go at walking pace where there are more vulnerable people around. I am not saying they should walk, but ride at a safe speed.

If on the other hand it was 6am and empty, then common sense would make me think differently.

BTW, I'm a cyclist, walker, parent and motorist, so not against any particular path user.

Vid from his helmetcam:

I wasn't there, so don't know the detail. but my gut reaction is I wish he had got done. A 5mph speed limit would suggest its primarily a pedestrianised area. So there could be jaywalkers, young children, dogs on leads, etc. 16mph is not appropriate where you get those sorts of users - cyclists should go at walking pace where there are more vulnerable people around. I am not saying they should walk, but ride at a safe speed.

 

If on the other hand it was 6am and empty, then common sense would make me think differently.

 

BTW, I'm a cyclist, walker, parent and motorist, so not against any particular path user.

Jaywalkers. Go back to the US, hippy.

There is no legal 5mph limit, he couldn't be "done".

There is no legal 5mph limit, he couldn't be "done".

Moral and common-sensical transgressions don't always match up to legal transgressions unfortunately.

16mph is moderately fast, you've no idea if that was appropriate for the conditions or not, so why do you think he was morally in the wrong?

Absolutely, I've no idea, hence my disclaimers of "I don't know the detail and I wasn't there" and "if on the other hand .... I would change my view".

I'll make it clearer for you - IF it was a busy pedestrianised area and he was doing 16mph, then morally he should be done. If no-one else was around, then there is no problem. Is that now clear, and would you agree or disagree?

You can be nailed for an offence of "cycling furiously" as defined in the 1847 Town Police Clauses Act.

Quite what furious means is as ever going to open to interpretation. Presumably swearing in the presence of a copper doesn't make you furious, or the Met forgot about it when going after the Chief Whip....