A camera cyclist once described as “Britain’s most hated” for reporting bad drivers was mocked on GB News for saying that speed limits are for “motorised vehicles” – a fact that went over the heads of the two presenters, one of whom asked if he was being serious during a debate on the planned introduction of 20mph speed limits on all non-A-class roads in Birmingham. 

Dave Sherry was on the show to discuss Birmingham City Council’s plan to limit motorists to 20mph on all B, C and unclassified roads, a policy he argued would make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and “make traffic flow even better”. The policy proposal – under discussion for years after Birmingham declared a road safety emergency in 2024 – was recently backed by the city’s road safety commissioner Mat MacDonald, who told BBC Radio WM: “Anyone who opposes these measures has to come up with a set of reasons, advantages, and benefits that eclipse the value of the human lives that will be saved by this.”

Before Sherry was able to debate with fellow guest Charles Amos – who would go on to claim that Birmingham’s 20mph limit would incur a net cost of £182 million due to “increased journey times” – host Mark White challenged Sherry about the behaviour of “most… or some” of his “cycling brethren” failing to obey speed limits.

When Sherry pointed out that speed limits are for motorised vehicles, White and fellow host Emily Carver erupted with laughter: “Are you really being serious”, said White, while Carver said the claim was “funny”.

While Sherry is technically correct, because speed limits on public highways in the UK only apply to motorised vehicles (excluding compliant electric bikes, which are treated the same as standard pedal cycles in law), officers can use their discretion to charge or arrest cyclists with offences such as careless cycling, dangerous cycling, and ‘wanton or furious driving’ – naturally speed could be a factor here, even if cyclists cannot be given speeding fines specifically.

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Councils can also enforce bylaws limiting pedal cyclists to certain speeds. Last year Wandsworth Council deployed officers with speed guns to fine cyclists travelling faster than 12mph on Tooting Bec Common, though it told road.cc the tactic was only being used “as a last resort for dangerous speeding and unauthorised cycling.”

Back in 2018, Bournemouth Borough Council spent £12,000 on digital signs reminding cyclists to keep to the 10mph speed limit enforced on Bournemouth’s promenade – Cycling UK said at the time that the money would have been better spent targeting “the few troublemakers, rather than vilifying all cyclists.”

Sherry – a London bus driver who also claims to be a qualified commercial drone pilot – is no stranger to media attention, and once appeared on Good Morning Britain described as “Britain’s most hated cyclist”. On the show, he claimed that he reported up to 70 drivers a week during a debate with Penny Malory, who complained that cyclists were unidentifiable and unaccountable. That appearance was off the back of Sherry’s participation in Channel 5’s controversial documentary titled ‘Cyclists: Scourge Of The Streets?’

Another thick-skinned display was needed in 2022, when Sherry was berated by a furious Jeremy Kyle about insurance, cyclists riding two abreast, and vehicle excise duty.