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Video: Police fine cyclist found pedalling to Heathrow on M25

Man had already been told to get off the motorway but returned later

Police in Surrey have fined a cyclist they found cycling on the M25 as he headed for London Heathrow Airport along the hard shoulder of the busy motorway. The man had earlier been told to get off the motorway by Highways England officials.

A video of the rider, a man aged in his 30s from Feltham, was posted to YouTube by Surrey Police, who said:

It was reported that the man was initially traveling along the hard shoulder of the anti-clockwise carriageway between junctions 11 and 13. He was escorted off the motorway by Highways England officers and given guidance for an appropriate route.

A short time later the cyclist re-appeared on the slip road of the clockwise carriageway of the M25 traveling in a clockwise direction between junction 13 and 14 before continuing his journey on the spur road to Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. He was stopped by officers from Highways England and an officer from Surrey Police Roads Policing Unit was called to assist.

PC Tom Richardson of Surrey Police said: "As well as cycling along an extremely busy motorway during the rush hour traffic the cyclist would have also crossed motorway slip roads so it is extremely fortunate that there was not a more serious outcome to his trip.

"The act of cycling on the motorway hard shoulder is clearly reckless and dangerous and the man not only put his own life at risk but other road users too.

"A cyclist coming towards you on your morning commute on the M25 would be completely unexpected and could cause alarm - another example as to why motorists should remain alert and vigilant at all times."

"If we get reports of people cycling on motorway we will intervene and further action may be taken."

Martin Crosswell, Highways England Operations Manager added: "Safety is Highways England’s number one priority so it is important that all road users follow the Highway Code and listen to the advice given out to them by our team of Traffic Officers.

"The actions of this man were irresponsible and could have caused a serious incident."

Earlier today, Surrey Police’s road policing unit had tweeted a picture of the cyclist that by 3pm had received around 100 retweets and likes on the social network.

Bicycles, along with some other types of vehicles, as well as pedestrians and horse riders, are banned from motorways under Rule 253 of the Highway Code:

Prohibited vehicles. Motorways MUST NOT be used by pedestrians, holders of provisional motorcycle or car licences, riders of motorcycles under 50 cc, cyclists, horse riders, certain slow-moving vehicles and those carrying oversized loads (except by special permission), agricultural vehicles, and powered wheelchairs/powered mobility scooters.

Police said on Twitter that while cyclists aren’t the only people they find using motorways who shouldn’t be there, tweets about people on bikes there do seem to get more attention.

“We regularly find cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles that are restricted from use on a motorway. Like other offences we tweet them,” they said.

“Whilst the cyclist did put his self at danger and knew this, we Tweet daily about other road users putting their self, and others in danger.

“The other road users don't always seem to get the same amount of RTs, likes or comments. All road users need to drive/ride/walk safe,” they added.

A number of cyclists have been caught riding on the M25 in recent years, including a 74-year-old woman who in August 2014 was fined by Surrey Police for apparently using the motorway as a short cut.

A fortnight earlier, members of the Sri Lankan team training for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were spotted by 2012 triathlon world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Jonathan Brownlee riding on the hard shoulder of the M74.

> Commonwealth Games cyclists go training... on a motorway

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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21 comments

Avatar
jollygoodvelo | 8 years ago
1 like

Pretty certain I posted the same last time someone doing this made the news.  Ignoring for a moment the 'smart motorways' with no permanent hard shoulder, it's a 4 metre wide lane with nothing in it, running very directly between main destinations.  

 

The main risks are the draft from passing vehicles/trucks, the risk of being involved in a collision at potentially higher speed, and the difficulty of crossing sliproads.  Well - I'd rather be 4 metres away from a truck at 56mph or a car at 70 - OK, 80mph, than one metre away from anything at 60mph on an A road.  Collisions: you take your chances on any road.  And sliproads: simply mandate that cyclists must go up the sliproad, cross the junction at the top/bottom, and rejoin using the 'on' slip.  Voila.

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pcb21 replied to jollygoodvelo | 8 years ago
1 like
Gizmo_ wrote:

 And sliproads: simply mandate that cyclists must go up the sliproad, cross the junction at the top/bottom, and rejoin using the 'on' slip.  Voila.

the only junction he intended to pass (j12) has no "junction at the top/bottom" - it's an interchange.

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ironmancole | 8 years ago
4 likes

Yeah ok technically it's illegal but in the wider context that we all recognise it's hard to reasonably argue against it. Why?

  • CCTV everywhere 
  • Lane to yourself
  • No oncoming suicide overtakes
  • Immediate medical availability
  • Better maintained road surface

Instead we're forced to infer that this public resource is more dangerous than the sub 30mph death zones in suburbia, rural racetracks with cavernous potholes plagued by delivery vans, late salespeople in Vauxhalls and Carlos Sainz wannabes in DIY racecars puckered with blind bends and ample opportunity to hit and run.

So. If the police were pressed to explain why a motorway is dangerous to cycle on in comparison to the food blender we are forced to ride within what would their official response be?

Would they equally advocate young women cut through dark wasteland instead of the well lit CCTV covered street purely because the law stated young women can't use the street 'as it's dangerous?' 

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pcb21 | 8 years ago
1 like

The above posts seem to have some sympathy for the guy by implying what he is doing is no more dangerous than some legal riding options but to be clear he is a bloody idiot.

He was going from J11 to J13 so he's got to get past J12 - the M25/M3 junction. No option to get off and on again - he has to jump the slip roads where traffic is hammering it and rightly expects no cyclists.

He then gets told to stop because it is illegal and dangerous and STILL carries on. 

But to top things off we're told he is a local from Feltham. He must surely know that going through Chertsey/Staines would be a SHORTER route to Heathrow from J11 area than M25.

How dense can he be?!

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wycombewheeler | 8 years ago
1 like

I think this covers the issue quite well

http://beyondthekerb.org.uk/2014/02/25/idiots/

and like all of the posts on the site is well argued.

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Silver Rider | 8 years ago
1 like

Probably safer than the A38 going towards Plymouth, which is three lanes and 70mph with no hard shoulder.  I did this a few years back when touring (on a battered Pashley workbike), mainly because the parallel national cycle route was so badly signposted I'd got sick of stopping to check the map.  People really don't give you the appropriate amount of space for the speed they pass you at, especially tall vehicles.

https://goo.gl/maps/NRySaGL4jHS2

Not a popular route choice, if Strava is a good measure of such things:

https://www.strava.com/segments/9238223

 

 

Avatar
Paul J | 8 years ago
4 likes

I've cycled along the A1 in Ireland, up in the wee north. Going from Belfast south. The A1 is effectively a motorway for a good, initial bit - so hard shoulder, and long fast slip roads. It then turns into a more standard dual-carriageway - no hard shoulder anymore, shorter slip roads. 70+ mph traffic all along.

I can tell you it was a _lot_ more pleasant cycling along the "effectively a motorway" bit than the dual-carriageway bit. Ok, the slip roads needed some care to cross, but if there was too much traffic I had the option of just going up the slip road and down the other side to rejoin.

I had a whole *lane* to myself, it was bliss!

When it became dual-carriageway standard, with the hard shoulder disappearing, that road became *terrifying*. No longer did I have a lane to myself. Instead I just never knew when I was going the next close and very fast pass. It was horrible. I felt exposed. The risk of a horrible accident was palpably higher. I got off it as soon as I could, and instead went down a maze of country lanes - much longer and hillier, but at least I didn't feel like death could be ploughing into the back of me at any moment.

In short, if I'm faced with choosing between a motorway and a dual-carriageway to get to my destination with my bicycle, I'd *much* rather use the motorway if the choice was open to me.

That a cyclist could be escorted off a road where they have their own lane, onto single or dual-carriageway roads with *no dedicated lane* where the traffic is *just as fast*, for "safety" shows how fucked up the UK's attitudes to cyclist safety are.

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dafyddp | 8 years ago
4 likes

A couple of hours later in the day and presumably he would have been moving faster than most traffic on the M25?

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Ush | 8 years ago
2 likes

" given guidance for an appropriate route."

I would love to see the comparison of the two routes.

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JonD | 8 years ago
3 likes

Felixcat's put it very well  1

 

The A3 - a few junctions away round the M25 is a motorway in all but name. I *have* seen the occasional cyclist on there..maybe 3 in 25 yrs ?

At the A3/M25 junction there are signs to show howthe sliproads off/on should be negotiated...not that I suspect that helps much with some of the muppets that think the sliproad's a race track.

TBH, judging by the speeds on the M25 much of the time - whether due to variable speed limits or it becoming almost carpark-like, the M25's probably a bloody sight safer than riding on the A3...

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wycombewheeler replied to JonD | 8 years ago
3 likes
JonD wrote:

Felixcat's put it very well  1

 

The A3 - a few junctions away round the M25 is a motorway in all but name. I *have* seen the occasional cyclist on there..maybe 3 in 25 yrs ?

At the A3/M25 junction there are signs to show howthe sliproads off/on should be negotiated...not that I suspect that helps much with some of the muppets that think the sliproad's a race track.

TBH, judging by the speeds on the M25 much of the time - whether due to variable speed limits or it becoming almost carpark-like, the M25's probably a bloody sight safer than riding on the A3...

As a student in the mid 90s I rode from Guildford to London on the a3.

1 it felt safer in Surrey 70mph speed limit and hard shoulder than on London 50mph and no shoulder.

2. I ignored the slip road suggestion, seemed crazy to me to try and cross the slip road like that. So I went down to the roundabout and came back on. A few beeps from people who must have thought I was planning on using the m25 but otherwise no problem.

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Stumps | 8 years ago
1 like

Not that i would ever do it but an earlier post was right about space compared to generally cycling along other roads.

But until you stand by the side of motorways and feel the draft as big wagons and cars go past then you can understand the dangers of being by the side of motorways.

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felixcat | 8 years ago
5 likes

Bez, in his Beyond the Kerb blog has wittily attacked this, and other nonsenses.

http://beyondthekerb.org.uk/2014/09/22/cut-the-crap/

Riding on the pavement is dangerous, unless there is white paint to make it safe.

Don't ride on the motorway, but there are cycle paths alongside dual carriageways which are narrower and have slip roads. There are painted lines to help you cross these!

Don't ride up beside traffic at lights on the nearside, but there are a cycle lanes there leading to the advanced stop line.

Don't ride in the gutter, but there are cyclelanes there.

Don't ride in the door zone, but cycle lanes are painted there.

The idiocies of cycle paths are well publicised by the Warrington Cycle Campaign.

 

 

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nowasps | 8 years ago
1 like

I think safety is unlikely to be the biggest issue here. Nevertheless, having been caught doing the same thing twice, he can hardly complain if they take his trouser clips away for a few months..

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McVittees | 8 years ago
1 like

You're joking right? At times cars may have been further away but they could be doing over 70mph! Plus, what about when he crosses a slip road? Think of the rate of closure for a car taking the slip road fast.  It makes me shiver.

But...I must admit, when I was in my 20s I rode all the way from London to Brighton on A roads and Motorways.  I must have been f*****g mad.   No CCTV then.

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to McVittees | 8 years ago
6 likes
McVittees wrote:

You're joking right? At times cars may have been further away but they could be doing over 70mph! Plus, what about when he crosses a slip road? Think of the rate of closure for a car taking the slip road fast.  It makes me shiver.

But there are roads in inner London where drivers can hit 70mph. And those are roads with parked cars and pedestrian-island choke points, so arguably worse for cycling than a motorway.

I suppose the difference would be that on those roads driver speeds vary inversely with volume of traffic (so its not a steady stream of 70mph vehicles, the insane speeds seem to be hit late at night or on weekend afternoons), but that doesn't make it any less nasty when Mr Boy-racer comes up behind you late at night at 70mph because he thinks the road is empty, just as you need to get past a parked car. I think a motorway might actually feel safer.

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wycombewheeler replied to McVittees | 8 years ago
2 likes
McVittees wrote:

You're joking right? At times cars may have been further away but they could be doing over 70mph! Plus, what about when he crosses a slip road? Think of the rate of closure for a car taking the slip road fast.  It makes me shiver.

But...I must admit, when I was in my 20s I rode all the way from London to Brighton on A roads and Motorways.  I must have been f*****g mad.   No CCTV then.

Just as they would on any national speed limit dual carriageway

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McVittees replied to wycombewheeler | 8 years ago
0 likes

A good point about A roads vs Motorway hard shoulder.

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brooksby | 8 years ago
16 likes

Its silly, really, when you consider that - even cycling on the hard shoulder (which I know is illegal!) - he was further away from the moving motor traffic than most of us are when we're commuting to work...

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wycombewheeler replied to brooksby | 8 years ago
6 likes
brooksby wrote:

Its silly, really, when you consider that - even cycling on the hard shoulder (which I know is illegal!) - he was further away from the moving motor traffic than most of us are when we're commuting to work...

 

eaxactly, national speed limit dual carriageway with no hard shoulder, sure wny not, ride on it if you dare. (time trials are often held on these sorts of roads)  motorway with 3m of hard shoulder to yourself, no don't be crazy.

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themartincox | 8 years ago
4 likes

Last year during transcontinental i may have found myself on a couple of motorways by accident.

Around Verona at 11pm it was pretty quiet but I got the whole 'get the hell of the road' vibe quite quickly!

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