for telling a young girl off for cycling on the pavement??

[lottiejenkins]

I went shopping in our local market town this morning with my ds Wilf (profoundly deaf). We stopped at the florists where my cousin works and as we were leaving Wilf went out of the front door ahead of me. He then suddenly stepped back and i saw that girl (aged about ten) had nearly knocked him over as she cycled past on the pavement!! I called after her and said that Wilf was deaf and that is one of the many reasons why she shouldnt be cycling on the pavement. I didnt see any parent with her. Surely if shes that nervous of traffic she shouldnt be out on her own???

We recently had an 'incident' and called the police out, our DTs are 10 going on 11 and the Policeman said DTs were most definitely in the right and are far too young to cycle on the road.

soupdragon I glance. I am perfectly normal I promise you. Please do not try to imply that I have been going about my daily pedestrian business in a completely bizarre manner as that is patently not the case. I am a normal pedestrian who goes around the high street in a perfectly normal fashion. I do not take the same care when exiting a shop as I do when crossing a busy road. Bicycles can go bloody fast. Most people are not expecting them to be on the pavement as it is illegal to cycle on the pavement.

Mobility scooters are not great but they are much bigger than a bike and easier to spot in your peripheral vision, also they have a max speed on the pavement. Still they can be bloody dangerous if driven without due care.

Whatever the policeman told you choca, the fact is that it is illegal to cycle on the pavement.

YABU.

YABU.

YABU children should be able to cycle on the pavement drivers are careless of cyclists as it is and no my 9yo ds is not allowed to cycle on the road.

School are putting him through cycling proficiency in september (it costs me £15) but I still don't think I will let him cycle on the road in busy areas only on the quieter roads and even then I'd still worry about some boy racer hitting him.

I can't believe how many people think YABU. Like SGM has said, cycling on a busy pavement outside shops is wrong. You get off your bike and push it. It's the same reason that heelies and scooters aren't allowed in shopping centre - you are travelling much more quickly (and probably at a low level of control if you are a young person) than the pedestrians around you.

Common sense anyone?

YABU

YABU, reasons like niceguy2 and others.

I find it amazing that so many people think that the law doesn't apply to them and theirs.

I wasn't aware you could pick and choose. Teaching children that it is OK to break the law is now the done thing on MN is it? Strange if you read the threads elsewhere people seem to be saying that teaching your children that the law doesn't apply to them is a bad thing.

FWIW I don't think anyone minds people cycling on empty pavements but cycling near pedestrians / shops is not just illegal it is so out of order - what ChristinedePizan said really.

Why are people teaching their children to break the law and to be so selfish? It's just NOT OK.

I don't think your DS being deaf is a factor. Bicycles don't exactly make a lot of noise (unless the girl was ringing her bell). His dyspraxia isn't really an issue either...anyone who steps out of a shop onto the pavement without looking first when I bike is coming along the is likely to have a collision.

Your DS had right of way. You called after the girl on the bike. YANBU, bit the whole thing is hardly a big deal.

yaNBu to expect the little girl to be more careful

YABU if you think that children should cycle on roads.

Our local beat police say that if you are old enough to ride a bike without stabilisers then you should be learning to cycle on the road.

YOur local bobby is a lunatic.

Ours were three when no stabilisers only a complete idiot would let thier children on the roads round here at that age...

I cycle a lot and even on the road you are shouted at and nearly ran off the road for just being there and daring to exist.

We need cycle lanes.

She should have looked and apologised if she nearly knocked your son over for sure

the law isn't actually that clear sardine - the fixed penalty notices were never intended to apply to children cycling on pavements - the home ofice made this clear. They were intended for dangerous cyclists - not those with 'reasonable fear of the road' with particular mention to children. They expected 'sensible application' on the part of officers in this respect.

The law is that clear. The Highway Code states that no-one must cycle on the pavement. Full stop.

What individual police officers choose to do is up to them. But the law is clear, it is illegal.

"64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
[Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129]"

Emboldened = it is written into law, and the relevant laws are quoted.

Obviously the police have leeway about whether they actually nick people or not.

And as someone has kindly pointed out children under 10 can do what they like and under 16 they are unlikely to bother.

The fact remains though it is against the law, and against common sense and courtesy to even consider cycling on a pavement where there are or are likely to be pedestrians. Like near shops.

Here's a quote (found in here) relating to fixed penalty notices:

The Home Office Minister at the time of the changes, Paul Boateng, told Ben Bradshaw, MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycle Group:
'The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of the traffic, and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle in the road... sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required'

And breathe. You've changed our minds.

My local beat officer is not a lunatic. He is an excellent police officer, doing a very difficult job.

And the word 'learning' is present.

You can't give an FPN for cycling on the footpath to anyone under 16.

I don't mind people (any age) cycling on the pavement as long as it's not obstructing pedestrians.

i dont think you were unreasonable, the clue is in the 'market town' imo you DONT ride a bike on the pavement in a town centre, market etc, its generally too busy so you get off and push your bike, or at least scoot along with foot on the floor.

my elder two boys 9 and 11 ride on the rode, the 11 yr old all the time and the 9yr old the majority of the time, even my 6 yr old rides on the rode when its a quiet streer (on the way to school) and always when he has an adult riding with them.

if parents are going to let kids ride bikes then imo they have a responsibility to teach them how to do so safely and that includes riding on the road.

And good old Boris and the (then) Met chief support children being allowed to cycle on pavements: here