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news
Cyclist stopped for riding on cycle path (Silvio Diego YouTube still)Video: Policeman stops London pavement cyclist… but it's not the pavement it's a cycle path
A London cyclist has shared footage of himself being stopped by a policeman for riding on the pavement - although in fact, he was on a cycle path, as he politely pointed out to the embarrassed officer.
In the video, posted to YouTube by Silvio Diego, the officer gestures to the rider to stop, saying: "Hey - why are you on your bike on the pavement?"
The cyclist tells him: "This is a passage for a bicycle," with a nearby PCSO nodding his agreement that this is, indeed, the case.
The sheepish looking police officer says, "Sorry, I can't see the cycle path."
That's despite the short route, which enables riders coming across Waterloo Bridge or arriving from the Strand to head up Wellington Street towards Covent Garden, a route blocked to motor vehicles, being clearly marked as a cycle path on both the pavement and bollards.
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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77 comments
so i've finally watched the video. I see people getting really irate about it - much more than the cop or the rider, it seems. Maybe you should just CTFO.
That cycle lane is confusing if you don't already know about it. I use it regularly and I am actually amazed at how many pedestrians are aware of it and give-way to the cyclists when the lights are green.
One thing I am not sure about is who technically has right-of-way between cyclists and pedestrians here. It's not a road, it's a pavement with a cycle lane bisecting it.
So who called who a pleb?
Christ, I bet you've cleared out some common rooms in your time Oozavared.
Slow news day guys?
+1
It must have taken longer to upload the clip to YouTube, that it took for the nothing-really-happened, to happen.
...all that debate...all that effort... all those keyboard strokes...all that energy...all that sub-collar thermal excess...but,ohh!,the passion!
Farrell, a starting wage for a cop is less than that of a trainee manager at McDonalds. Admittedly i will get a good pension when i retire as mine is set in stone, however the pension that has since been brought in by that wanker Theresa May is significantly less yet we have to pay more to get it.
I digress though back to the story
...lets all chill and have a nice Horlicks...or Camomile infusion....
I think 'helmet-cam warriors' who upload nonsense (like this) to Youtube should have their Go-Pro's shoved up their arses. Preferably with the helmet still attached and ideally by the policeman featured.
Whoa there Tonto.
The cyclist uploaded a good news story about a polite, couteous and fair minded copper apologising for making a small mistake. It's almost a masterclass in policing and in how you ooght to respond to a civil question from a police officer.
The guy hardly appears to be a warrior of any sort.
I never cease to be surprised by other people's fetishes and sexual desires. I suppose the uniform thing is common enough.
You go girlfriend....
KiwiMike, i'm being totally sarcastic here but hear me out -
I went into a coffee shop and asked for a cappucino with no sugar, the assistant serves me a cappucino with sugar. Its pointed out to them and they apologise, make a fresh cup and i'm delayed by a few seconds -
now is this a systematic failure by local authorities in their education policy in that someone cant remember no sugar, or is it the fault of management for not giving the correct training, or more importantly is it just a mistake
I do agree though that more needs to be done in relation to bike infrastructure and in preaching to the masses about cycling and its benefits.
@stumps
The coffee shop example doesn't quite fit, as it would have to be a society where only an eccentric minority drank coffee and where even coffee shop staff were unfamiliar with the habit, being taken aback and slightly puzzled every time the subject came up ('oh, you wanted it made with _hot_ water, right, sorry about that').
If this video has a point, its just that this sort of thing would be less likely to happen if cycling were more mainstream.
So the highly paid and looking at a shit hot pension police officer made a mistake because his first and over-riding instinct was that a cyclist *must* be in the wrong, and he couldn't be bothered to look or was too poorly sighted, or was simply just too stupid to know or notice the cycle lane.
But he was polite with it, so everything is hunky dory.
If you fancy the job with such high pay and a shit hot pension you can apply to:
http://www.metpolicecareers.co.uk/contactus.html
and as a general rule cyclists aren't allowed to cycle on the footway. This bit of poorly marked cycle lane is one of the exceptions to that so, yes the first overriding instinct was correct to challenge the cyclist which he did politely. And the cyclist replied politely and the police officer politely accepted that he had made a mistake and the cyclist politely rode off.
I'd be happy with that if I was a cyclist. I think the police should be out and about more often asking what people are up to and politely challenging them if they think they need to and actually accepting that they might be wrong in their polite challenge on occasions.
Criminology wise this is exactly what we want the police to be doing. The theory called "broken windows" postulates thatto minor infringements, littering, grafitti, petty vandalism etc indicates an area where the police don't pay attention and that leads it to be regarded by criminals as a place where crime is easier. the term came from the research experiments set up to see what happened when cars and buildings had broken windows that remained unfixed compared to when they were fixed and repaired.
I think most people would like to see the police pay attention to what is happening on the streets and asking polite questions when they need to rather than have the streets abandoned as a police free zone that they can't really be bothered with.
And frankly if you feel oppressed by a copper politely asking a question and then apologising when he realises he had made a mistake, I suggest you get out more and travel a bit. Might open your eyes a bit and make you appreciate some of the good things about Britain.
I think its a good article but the headline defeats what i think it's trying to get across. We all make mistakes and as long as we accept that and apologise then no harm done.
In this case the officer was polite and accepted he had made a mistake, end of.
Bored of road.cc slagging off the fuzz every other news item. If you could do a better job why not give up some of your spare time and become a volunteer cop. Stick to reviews, real news and pro racing please.
can we have some bike reviews please?
Love it!
I think they should concentrate on those buses using the bus lane.
No problems there - decent copper.
I have to agree with some of the above comments have a right wing group of cyclists kidnapped the editors family? Honestly please show at least a bit of objectivity.
A few weeks ago on that same path, a surley pedestrian assumed he had right of way, after the cycle lights had turned green, and tried to walk(barge) through me as I started cycling towards the bridge. Not realising that the light had changed for cyclists to go. Luckily I'm 16st and already leaned towards him to avoid getting toppled, so lets just say his efforts were futile. I think at that point he realised he was surrounded by a sea of bikes and maybe he was not 'just on the pavement'.
This must have taken more time to write than the non-incident depicted took. Agreed with others, this feels like an extremely cynical attempt to push an agenda.
A great demonstration of how politeness can benefit everyone, though. Doesn't that make you feel good? Thanks to mutual respect, the matter was dealt with in seconds to the satisfaction of all parties.
The cyclist was still stopped and forced to answer questions from someone who has been entrusted with too much authority.
Responses to this incident indicate a cynical attempt to push an agenda that everything is fine. It is not.
Gosh. 'Police State' shocker. Who knew? Best barricade myself in just in case the rozzers try to eliminate us all. Because surely that's what this kind of aggressive interrogation leads to, isn't it?*
*For the hard of understanding, there may be elements of sarcasm in this post. For RoadCC, what was the point of this article? To raise ire against a policeman making a decent effort at doing his job? Why?
erm...you have the right to free movement along the highway. This policeman stopped a member of the public going about his lawful business. As others have pointed out, it is indicative of the car-centric attitude and all-too-often lacking knowledge of the law by the police. Had the person concerned been of a sensitive or troubled disposition, this could have easily escalated into something much more serious.
Also, it is further evidence of how even when London / The UK does put in cycling infrastructure, it is woeful.
The point of this article? I'd like to see the Met issue a notice to all its officers telling them to brush up on where cycling is and isn't allowed. And I'd like to see TfL/whoever put in place better signage/surfacing here to delineate and advise cyclists and pedestrians alike.
I'd happily bet £100 to the burned-down dog's home of your choice that this happens every_single_day, many times per day, at this location.
The copper made a mistake, and apologised as soon as it was pointed out. Making mistakes is not illegal, nor is it a short step from making a mistake to full blown authoritarian crackdowns on bike-path cycling. It is just a mistake, that's all. Give the guy a break, FFS.
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