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news
Police mobile speed camera unitPolice officer fined for blocking bike lane
A police officer has been fined for blocking a pavement and cycle lane with a mobile speed camera van.
The driver parked the Mercedes police van on Cheltenham Road, Gloucester, hoping to catch speeding motorists, and was snapped by the passenger of a passing car blocking the entire pavement and bike lane.
The Gloucester Citizen reports the driver received a fixed penalty fine for the parking, which apparently forced parents on the school run and cyclists into rush hour traffic.
- Britain's most terrifying speeding revealed: 128mph in a 30mph zone
The Citizen discovered, through a Freedom of Information request, that the police officer who parked the van was given "management advice" by the Gloucestershire force.
Robert Vestey, from the Camera Enforcement Unit at Gloucestershire Constabulary, said: "We do not condone such actions and we hope that the fixed penalty notice and management advice shows that this has been taken seriously."
He said police officers are not exempt from road and parking rules and as such the officer was treated in the same way as a member of public.
The Gloucestershire Constabulary has 26 fixed site speed cameras and 23 red light jumping cameras across the county, and three mobile enforcement vehicles. Motorists caught speeding can be fined £60.
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
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9 comments
If the van is parked illegally, does that render any speeding fines issued as a result of it null and void?
It also means that the offence of speeding didn't actually happen, no one was breaking the law and no one's life was put in danger. Winners all round, I'd say.
Only last week I saw a local authority maintenance van (big old Mercedes Sprinter) completely park on and block a designated cycle lane with a solid white line. The same local authority who have Street wardens hiding behind corners to catch illegal parkers...
I reached for my phone to take a pic but swore on discovering it I'd left it in the office.
Some employees, whether it's local authority, the police, parking wardens, etc think they are exempt from the law that applies to the rest of us, so it's refreshing when karma strikes.
Our local speed camera van doesn't park in bike lanes, but is excellent at finding places to camouflage itself so you don't see it till it's too late (when you're driving!)!
You can't be too late, if you're not speeding in the first place.
Paul C - i think you will find that he is a Police officer hence why the Police Federation became involved, they only act for cops, civilians have their own union.
Is parking in a cycle lane an offence? I'd have thought the problem was parking on the pavement and causing an obstruction
Which doesn't explain why so many vehicles can still be seen blocking cycle paths up and down the country. I feel this plod was dealt with quite harshly, considering.
Anyway, cyclists of Gloucester take care as I'm sure one plod will be on the look out to get some revenge. And no, I'm not a cycnic.....
it was a driver who dobbed him in...
and yes, that is on my commute so I'm not impressed with it.
PS he's not actually a Police Officer, merely a safety camera operative...