Cyclist who hit tandem after pulling wheelie while going through red light pleads guilty to dangerous cycling

An East Lothian teenager who injured two tandem riders when he rode into them has pleaded guilty to dangerous cycling at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, reports the Edinburgh News. 16-year-old Luke Horne was pulling a wheelie while riding through a red light when the incident took place.

Christopher Laughton and and Kay Boulton were cycling through Gullane on a tandem when they were struck by Horne in June last year.

The court heard that Horne, on a £1,400 mountain bike, rode through a traffic light on one wheel before making a right turn without signalling. He failed to look where he was going and rode into the couple.

Horne pleaded guilty to a charge of cycling dangerously, but Sheriff Welsh deferred sentencing until April.

Under section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1991, "a person is to be regarded as riding dangerously if (and only if) (a) the way he rides falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful cyclist, and (b) it would be obvious to a competent and careful cyclist that riding in that way would be dangerous."

Last week a Cumbrian cyclist pleaded guilty to dangerous cycling after injuring himself while riding the wrong way down a one-way street. Thomas Thompson went over the handlebars and collided with a taxi, fracturing his arm. He was fined £60 with £85 costs and a £20 surcharge.