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news
Josh Quigley and fine (via Twitter)Round-the-world cyclist fined for riding his bike through Bedford town centre
Round-the-world cyclist Josh Quigley has been handed a £75 fine for riding his bike in Bedford town centre. The Livingstone cyclist, who is just a week into his trip, tore up the ticket and says he won’t pay. He argues that local councils should be encouraging people to get on their bikes, not punishing them.
Bedford is one of a number of towns to have imposed a cycling ban using a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO). Cycling is not permitted in certain parts of the town centre between 9am and 6pm.
PSPOs have drawn criticism from Cycling UK for the way in which they target cycling as a whole rather than only those who cause a danger or nuisance through the manner of their cycling.
Quigley said: “I must have been going about 3mph; like walking pace; literally just on the bike, but not really pedalling; just going through the town centre so I can get to the other side to continue cycling.
“I just stopped at Tesco to get something to eat, and as I was doing that an officer approached me and said, ‘Stop the bike, sir.’
“And I got off – and I was calm and I never argued with him once – and he said, ‘Do you know you can’t cycle here?’ and I was like, ‘Oh no, I didn’t know that. I’m not from this area, just passing through.’”
Quigley was asked to produce ID and then, with no further questions, he was handed the ticket.
The cyclist was somewhat taken aback. “I thought, ‘Seventy-five fucking pounds for riding my bike through a town centre?’”
He added: “If they’re doing this to me, who else are they doing this to? If somebody’s just riding their bike through a street and they punish them with a £75 fine? For cycling a fucking bike?”
I GOT A £75 FINE
I got fined for riding my bike through Bedford town centre.
No warning or telling off.
Bedford Council, you can shove your fine up your arse!!
Don’t punish people for cycling.
Let’s create a culture that encourages people to be more active!!
— Josh Quigley (@JoshQuigley92) February 14, 2019
The Bedford Independent reports that Quigley is currently making his second attempt to ride around the world after aborting a 2016 attempt after 10,000 miles.
Quigley attempted to take his own life in 2015 and says cycling has helped him address mental health issues and ‘saved his life.’
On a video uploaded to YouTube, he tore up the ticket, saying: “I don’t think we should be punishing people for riding their bike. I think we – local councils, police, government – should be supporting people in getting onto bikes and getting out walking and doing anything that’s going to be a bit more active.”
A Borough Council spokesperson said: “We encourage cycling in Bedford as a green method of transport and a great way to keep fit, with numerous cycle routes and cycle paths across the Borough.
“However, cycling in Bedford town centre is a major concern for local residents following collisions with cyclists and reports of injuries. The Council was asked by shoppers and businesses to introduce a restriction on cycling in the town centre to keep pedestrians safe.
“The order restricting cycling in our town centre pedestrianised area has been in place for over two and a half years and signage is in place at the entrances to the pedestrianised area of the town centre to make people aware of this restriction.
“We have this restriction in place to help keep pedestrians safe whilst visiting Bedford and this is reducing the number of offenders. Anybody who does not agree that a fine should have been issued can decide to have the case heard in court.
“If anyone is aware of any mitigating factors for why a fine should not have been issued, we would encourage them to contact the Council and this will be looked into on a case-by-case basis.”
Other towns to have imposed PSPOs targeting cyclists include Mansfield and Peterborough, where a great many cyclists have faced fines.
The enforcement firm tasked with patrolling the latter raked in £80,000 in fines for unauthorised cycling in just over a year as part of its contract with the council.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
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Ridiculous questions. The presumption from the survey is that drivers are being caught out by restrictions that local councils have put in place to...
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for all the talk he's made about being the friend of motorists, actually dont think theyve done a whole lot to justify that label, theyve just...
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50 comments
Admins, can we have a means of deleting our own duplicate posts?
Public Space Protection Orders: a perfectly reasonable goal to stamp out antisocial behaviour from the yob minority who make town centres into rubbish festooned, threatening environments that smell of wee has been turned into a money grabbing exercise where privately contracted wardens tackle old people who drop a few crumbs and young mothers who's kids drop something out the pushchair. Some arseholes on bicycles do need taking down but they are too dificult to catch and quota must be filled.
Though entirely unfair from the account given, I would suggest that Josh dissociates any idea of fairness from the operation of the legal system. Unless he has a technical argument with the ticket or signage then he will only build up further fines, court costs and eventually bailiff charges.
If he has the time and inclination, he would be far better to target, obstruct and cause financial loss to the private company involved in the scam by any (legal) means possible. I think Bedford contract with Kingdom Environmental Protection. They have a lot of form in this area. Thoroughly unpleasant people.
There is a lot about that particular company and its 'officers' - they have a very bad reputation for being a bit overzealous (being generous, there
), and I believe that many councils have cancelled their contracts with them.
Despicable behaviour for a town with an air pollution problem.
https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/aqma/details?aqma_ref=618
Hmm should have took a car and drove down the bus lane, it would have been cheaper, intact any other road offence appears to be cheaper...
https://www.bedford.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/parking/street-parki...
I feel a freedom of information request coming on, following collisions and reports of injuries.
It's already in...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/collisions_between_cyclists_and_3
Well done! Let us know what happens please.
He's gone about this the wrong way. He should have just cleared off and that would have been that. The 'officers' don't have any power to pull you from your bike, detain you or anything.
No use being all enraged about this and say you're not paying when you could have just done one in the first place.
+1
Just ride off, if it was a PCSO they don't have the right to demand you produce ID, they can ask you for your details but you are not obliged to give them and unless they are in the process of writing the FPN then they have no right to detain you. You should also ask to see their 'Designation Card' which is like a regular policeman's warrant card and lists all the powers that have been designated to them, they MUST show you this card on demand.
It doesn't really matter whether the 'enforcement officers' have power to yank him from his bike. They'd have done it anyway, and later claimed (and if necessary, had sworn under oath and on the biggest stack of bibles this side of the Vatican) they the cyclist assaulted them.
And curiously enough, the CCTV in the town centre would have been 'broken' that day.
He is Scottish and hence is probably unaware of the rules around these 'officers'. Scotland doesn't have this shit going on.
Not that Scotlad is perfect by any means. t has lots of other stuff going on though.
.
Local Police, surely a warning would have been appropriate? Motorists mostly get an offer of driver education for minor speeding infringements.
I suspect sadly that not paying the fine will end up with him with a CCJ and costs awarded as well. Best to take it on the chin, pay up and then say his piece from the rooftops unless he really thinks he has a strong case.
It's not plod though - the Bedford Indy, in the article, refer to a 'Council Officer', not a police officer. So in hindsight Josh should just have refused to take the slip of paper, refused to give deatils and walked off. I can't see the Council officer being able to physically restrain him?
I sympathise with Josh, and if there were no warnings in the area that he was cycling in saying it is cycling-prohibited, then I don't see how they can enforce it.
However, if there were/are plenty of warnings then conversely I don't see that he has a leg to stand on, legally. We might think the laws are draconian, but we can't decide which laws to obey or flout depending on whether we agree with them or not - not without expecting punishment anyway.
'If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so...'
(Thomas Jefferson)
Sadly typical of Bedford.
As to “numerous cycle routes and cycle paths across the Borough” the very clear majority of these are poorly marked shared use pavements that can only count as an annoyance to both pedestrians & cyclists.
The borough does have the potentially useful facility of NCN route 51, but to the West that’s a mixture of round-the-houses labyrinth & arsehole attracting rat-run and to the East, which follow the course on an decommissioned branch line, it generally suffers from being a favourite dog walking track & in the summer it ceases to become a practical transport route when it becomes over-popular with families with young children and those wobbling along on their once-a-year bicycle outing.
All of the above is pretty damnd frustrating as the place is small enough & flat enough to make a bicycle the most rational mode of transport for many people for much of the time.
...we don't want anyone to use cycling for general transport or to go to the shops, dammit! That's why they invented the car!" (my edit)
I like him. He's my kinda guy.
Bedford council... less so.
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