Video: Essex motorbike cop tells cyclists they mustn't ride two abreast - even after he consults Highway Code, which says they can

What I just realised, like literally this moment, is that using clickbait videos that stir offense without actually being an organisation that does activism, is really a bit offensive itself. It's basically profiteering off of misery, misfortune and death. 

Huh. Weird I never saw it that clearly before. Guess I'm not as sharp as I think I am. Enough for me, this place has some great characters and dualists on it, but it's not right to keep baiting them like this for cash. You can't even argue that these pieces are raising awareness - the site has no outreach, it's a circle-jerk. 

/flounce

Not so, I always make that gibe, though light-heartedly, if you could trawl my post count you would see that. but I never realised how offensive the situation really is, until now.

Do you see the distinction there? If not it's okay.

Nice snipe though. I like a good snipe myself.

Anyway, I've had my say, don't want to upset pete76. He doesn't like it when you criticise this place. It's 'bad manners' 

"Making other road users drive carelessly"

How does that work then? Direct mind control over the motorist themselves or some sort of cyclist specific neural interface to the other road user's vehicle controls?

Whats the music about?

It's rather sad that when there are so few traffic offiers around these days, you get some who don't even understand the law. If I was the cyclists I'd be every bit as pissed off at them and credit to them for not getting really angry about a traffic stop they endured for not breaking the law. I hope they complain directly to the senior officer involved and ask for an apology and also further explanation of the law to the officer involved.

I this ever happens to me, I'll simply ask "am I being detained?", when the officer answers no, I'll just pedal off.

To paraphrase the Simpsons -

Ned Flanders "hey, you aren't allowed to ride two abreast"

Homer Simpson " we aren't riding to a breast, we are riding to a lake"

What a chopper!

Lol. Holding up trafic and a queue behind them. Just watch the 1st 20 sec of the video and that will somewhat prove that copper just started making things up when he proved himself wrong.
Competancy training awaits hopefully. We need the laws enforced not prejudice.

The look on the traffic officer's face when he opens that highway code and finds out he is wrong!

It's disturbing that even when he is literally stood reading the relevant section in the Highway Code out loud, the copper still doesn't understand it. Looking at the road, there is no sensible way to consider it within the "ride in single file" part of the Highway Code.

The cyclist is, in my personal view, a bit too in the copper's face pretty much from the start - but then I wasn't the one stopped for no reason at all with someone that should be keeping you safe, but who is instead talking absolute rubbish that strongly suggests they have no understanding of cycling & road safety issues. 

What I find weird is the particular place that they were stopped - in the space leading up to the traffic island, with what looks like a much longer, clear section of road just the other side. They've then parked an unmarked car behind the cyclist, causing all the other traffic to pull out and then straight back in again for the traffic island. That kind of undermines the whole "you're causing other drivers to drive carelessly" nonsense to me. (as if it wasn't clearly a ridiculous comment in the first place...)

Edit: is the copper equating "busy" with fast/60mph speed limit? But in any event, it's a should, not must. 

Quote:

"You are causing other road users to drive carelessly."

never correct what is happening is drivers are choosing to drive dangerously because they lack patience 

You mustn't wear that pretty frock, you're causing other chaps to go all rapey.

I'm so glad to see that our tax money goes to good use. I can only imagine what an idyllic place Essex must be where the only thing that the traffic police can find to do is to chastise cyclists for daring to cycle side by side. Here in Bristol, we have drivers jumping red lights at pretty much every intersection when the lights go from amber to red. We've also got plenty of speeders, but that might be something to do with our 20mph limit around the centre.

I wish I lived somewhere that was had such law-abiding citizens that the police don't even know their way around the Highway Code.

I used to get letters to from the public about cyclists in my club when we cycled two abreast or didn't use a shared use cyclepath when riding. I used to write to each of them giving the guidance from the highway code and the relevant information on minimum standards required for cycle paths from the Department of Transport.

As this video demonstrates, it's a sad reflection of our times that all road users are not aware of the Highway Code. Shame.

I'm not sure that the motorcyclist in this short video was left with any clearer idea of the guidance in the Highway Code, but they seemed to share contact details so maybe if the two cyclists contacted the local police they might be able to reach out to the motorcyclist in question and send a local "bobbie" round to show him the relevant sections and explain the meaning. It's quite clear. I'd hate for the road user to be unclear about the law.

I suspect the car driver who stopped behind may have understood the matter as he kept well away from the melee.

Video - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5md0et_essex-police-biker-argues-the-l...

Are we living in ignorance?

Just watched the whole thing. Ha, ha, good on the cyclists. The guy obviously has a chip on his shoulder about cyclists and just ended up making himself look like an officious prat.

Regardless of the coppers lack of knowledge his main view was their safety, cars will be going 70 on a 60, this isn't safe for cycling two a breast on a single lane road, single file with a good rear LED would be better, appreciate the law allows otherwise, just my opinion.

Looks like another typical road with poor cycling design.

A motorcyclist giving safety advise lol.

its only a matter of time before he rides that thing into a tree or a wall or a building.