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news
richmond park footage screenshot - via Simon MacMichael.PNGMetropolitan Police confirm cyclists in Richmond Park are not subject to speed limits
The Metropolitan Police Service has confirmed that cyclists in Richmond Park are not subject to speed limits – but has also underlined that action can be taken against people riding irresponsibly and putting others in danger.
The confirmation follows a statement published last week by the Royal Parks, which manages the popular southwest London beauty spot, that speed limits there did not apply to bike riders.
> Richmond Park speed limits do not apply to cyclists, says the Royal Parks
Now, Twickenham Nub reports that in response to an enquiry to the Metropolitan Police press office, it was told that the statement from the Royal Parks was definitive.
However, the force added that officers would act upon cases of cyclists riding irresponsibly and putting others in danger.
In a statement, it said: “We expect all road users to act responsibly to ensure Richmond Park is a safe place for everybody.
“Officers carry out regular patrols and will take action against those seen to be driving or riding in an irresponsible manner which intentionally or recklessly puts public safety at risk.”
The website added that the Metropolitan Police did not respond to questions regarding previous prosecutions and fines, including whether those subjected to them would be notified that they may have been unlawfully prosecuted
While cyclists are not subject to speed limits on the public highway, the specific bylaws applying to the Royal Parks has long left it open to question on whether or not speed limits apply to them.
The issue has particular relevance to Richmond Park, which is very popular with road cyclists, especially at the weekend, and a number of cyclists have been fined in recent years for riding above the 20mph speed limit that applies to most roads there.
Last month, Twitter user The Department for Parks & Recreation asked the Royal Parks in a tweet: “How was the speed limit in Richmond Park suspended for the purposes of athletes cycling within the park for the London Duathlon, held on Sunday 5th September 2021?”
— The Department of Parks & Recreation 🦌 (@ldnparks) September 30, 2021
In response, an FOI (Freedom of Information) Officer at the Royal Parks said: “The roads in the Royal Parks are Crown Roads managed under the authority of the Secretary of State for DCMS.
(There is one exception – Regents Park, where the roads are managed by a separate body, the Crown Estates Paving Commission).
The FOI Officer continued: “The speed limits on the roads are specified in The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997 as amended.
“Section 4 (28) requires that: ‘No person shall drive or ride any vehicle on a Park road in excess of the speed specified in relation to that road in Part II of Schedule 2 of these Regulations.’ (Part II schedule 2 lists the parks that that have vehicular access.)
“These regulations apply to motorised vehicles, not bicycles, and therefore the use of park roads by cyclists on events such as the London Duathlon is lawful. In answer to your specific question, the speed limits were not suspended for this event because they are not deemed to apply to bicycles.”
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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43 comments
Good to have this cleared up. However I do find the reasoning strange;
How is the position different to cycling over the alcohol limit? Cyclists have no alcoholometer, just as they have no speedometer.
It's not really the same, though, is it? You have a responsibility to know whether you are unsafe to drive/ride because of alcohol. You can't really be expected to judge your speed accurately without a device for doing so.
Cyclists aren't actually subject to alcohol limits either (ridiculously, in my opinion), you can only be charged with cycling under the influence on the evidence of your behaviour (weaving all over the road etc). A police officer can ask you to take a breathalyzer, blood or sputum test, but as a cyclist you have a right to refuse and it cannot be held against you in any subsequent proceedings. It's one of the few areas where I agree with the anti-cycling mob, riding drunk should be as heinous an offence as driving drunk.
As mentioned it's the 'drunk in charge of' that applies here.
You can be drunk in charge of many things - years ago my mother had to do a probation report on someone who was drunk in charge of a rowing boat on Emberton Lakes!
Can you be done for being drunk in charge of a keyboard? Asking for a friend...
Quite possibly! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/10/08/justin-trudeau-mocked-using-2slgbtqqia-acronym-sexual-identities/
I saw it mentioned elsewhere as Mr Trudeau 'headbutting the keyboard'!
Just say it's quertyitis
You can be drunk in charge of a bicycle, but its based on your ability to ride rather than set limits. My old man loves regaling the story of him getting arrested for it
Unfortunately you don't have to be riding the bicycle, pushing it is enough.
And it is my understanding that they only need to have suspicion of drunkenness.
A neighbour got done for this - but they were absolutely paralytic. Without the bike to lean on, they would not have been able to walk.
I think they got a small fine, along the lines of what you'd get for being drunk in public (also includes in a pub, where it is actually illegal to be drunk!).
Erm, how many cars are fitted with an alcolholometer? (or a meter for detecting how high you are?) Should drivers not be done for this then?
The speedometer discussion is what I was having with Dave. Bikes are not enforced to have one and unless you are a dedicated roadie, you probably won't have one. But even if you do, they are not calibrated to a legal standard like a car one. Mine for example has been showing me hitting 94mph in the wet whilst cycling up a small incline, and if I use the GPS speed side rather then the sensor, it will die under trees which I assume the park has.
But also most bikes can easily do over 20mph on a downhill just free wheeling if it is steep and long enough so how will they know if they are speeding before being pulled over. It is alright some twattish person arguing in a wheedly voice "mmm it will only be TT riders pulled over smmmhh" but that is not what the Policeman defending it as right said in the other article. Only that they pulled over and prosecuted people for going over 20mph as per the bylaw. .
@Sriracha's reasoning is correct. That part of the Royal Parks statement is nonsense. Cyclists are not subject to speed limits on public roads in the UK, but it's got nothing to do with lacking speedometers, any more than possession of a breathalyser affects whether alcohol limits can be enforced.
Cyclists are not subject to speed limits because Parliament, in its sovereign wisdom, chose to make a law that drivers of motor vehicles may not exceed the designated speed limit on a public road. Bicycles are not motor vehicles.
See for example the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 section 81(1) "It shall not be lawful for a person to drive a motor vehicle on a restricted road at a speed exceeding 30 miles per hour." Other sections are similar in this respect.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/27/section/81
I imagine that the reason is that high speeds had not been a sufficiently serious problem on our roads until motor vehicles appeared - in spite of previous complaints about cyclists "scorching" and, no doubt, horse riders galloping.
I bet they were almost crying responding to that question. It must have hurt them so much to own up.
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