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Riding on the pavement

by Some Fella
Fri, Jan 18, 2013 10:58
5

So Cambridge police send plain clothes officers to nab cyclists who ride on the pavement and yet in this instance when selfish pricks driving their big stupid cars on the pavement outside a school it becomes "a matter for the schools and traffic wardens".
The idiots are winning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-21066482

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SideBurn | 11 years ago
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I think the problem with parking on the pavement tired old fart is that the offence is to 'obstruct' the pavement. So it would appear that it is OK to 'park on' as long as you do not 'obstruct'. This makes what could be a straight forward 'fixed penalty' offence into a 'pile of paperwork' offence. This is likely to discourage Police officers to deal with the problem unless it is causing a major hassle. As we know it is only a major hassle when some poor sod gets killed.
This means that motorists know that 99 times out of 100 they will get away with, at worst, a warning.

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Peter_Mould | 11 years ago
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That is really shocking to know that cars are even allowed to drive on pavements, especially outside a school where kids can just dash anywhere outside the compound! Cambridge police have indeed been nabbing the wrong guys! Sometimes these drivers are just selfish because they know their cars are huge or expensive like BMW so they think they own the road AND the pavements! Thus, they do not take into account the safety of other road users, including pedestrians who might just get knocked down because of the drivers' rashful act!

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tired old fart replied to Peter_Mould | 11 years ago
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Peter_Mould wrote:

That is really shocking to know that cars are even allowed to drive on pavements, especially outside a school where kids can just dash anywhere outside the compound! Cambridge police have indeed been nabbing the wrong guys! Sometimes these drivers are just selfish because they know their cars are huge or expensive like BMW so they think they own the road AND the pavements! Thus, they do not take into account the safety of other road users, including pedestrians who might just get knocked down because of the drivers' rashful act!

Driving/parking on the pavement has been illegal for a long time. The 2007 highway code (the most recent edition) says it is forbidden right through London, and anywhere else there has to be signage expressly permitting parking on the pavement. If you have to cross the pavement to access parking, etc it has to be done with caution, and recognizing that pedestrians have right of way. This is ignored all the time by the police however a tonne of bricks will land on a cyclist who dives out of the way of a driver and has to get on the pavement to preserve his/her own life due to the monumental aggression used by most drivers.

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bike_food | 12 years ago
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We have a similar situation at my kids school with congestion, luckily its not possible to drive on the pavement though. No matter how many times the school sends out letters and writes information on the website with regard to where to park when collecting kids some parents take no notice and park as close as they can, it only takes one or two cars to park in the wrong place to cause chaos and lots of angry drivers who aren't picking up kids. I'm not advocating their actions but I can see how things like this happen. It's the same mindset as people who park in disabled bays who aren't disabled, f**k you jack I'm alright, screw everyone else.

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Bob's Bikes | 12 years ago
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What do you mean ARE unfortunately they HAVE been for quite a long time now

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