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news
Wheelie (licensed on Flickr under CC BY 2.0 by Carlos Felipe Pardo).JPGWheelie cyclist fined £100 for dangerous cycling
A cyclist who was twice spotted by a police officers pulling wheelies in a pedestrianised part of Norwich city centre has been fined a total of £100 for dangerous cycling.
Aiden Orton, aged 24, pleaded guilty at Norwich Magistrates’ Court yesterday to the offences, committed on 5 October and 1 November this year, reports the Eastern Daily Press.
Stacie Cossey, prosecuting, said of the October incident, when Orton was riding along White Lion Street and Gentlemen’s Walk: “He was doing wheelies, with his front wheel reaching the same height as the heads of passing pedestrians.
“He was cautioned by the officer who explained that it was an offence to cycle dangerously, and that he might injure someone else as well as himself.
“To that he replied: ‘I enjoy it’.”
The following month, the same police officer saw him doing “protracted wheelies” as he rode from Gentleman’s Walk along Exchange Street, and “cycling at speed closely to pedestrians.”
Asked in court whether he had anything to say, Orton insisted: “It's really not that dangerous you know. I ride then slow down, I ride and slow down.”
Dangerous cycling is an offence under section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which provides:
(1) A person who rides a cycle on a road dangerously is guilty of an offence.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above 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.
(3) In subsection (2) above “dangerous” refers to danger either of injury to any person or of serious damage to property; and in determining for the purposes of that subsection what would be obvious to a competent and careful cyclist in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the accused.
Sentencing Orton, chair of the bench Cathryn Dobson said: “We are going to fine you for dangerous cycling on two occasions.
“It is reckless, and you were in a busy area of the city which is pedestrianised so the risk to others was higher than usual.”
Besides being fined £50 for each offence, Orton will also have to pay costs of £25 and a £34 victim surcharge.
The court was also told that Orton had been given a conditional discharge in December last year relating to two counts of shoplifting.
He admitted breaching the terms of the conditional discharge, but the magistrates decided to take no further action on that issue.
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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37 comments
"(1) A person who rides a cycle ON A ROAD dangerously is guilty of an offence."
Is a pedestrian precinct a road?
Maybe not always, but in this case almost certainly yes.
http://maps.norfolk.gov.uk/highways/
White Lion Street, Gentleman’s Walk and Exchange Street all showing as Norfolk County Council Maintained Roads.
Always a point of argument the 'dangerous' thing. If I were to get kneedown on my motorbike and copper saw it I'd probably get nicked for dangerous even though it's not, it's just body positioning. Same with anything, when you're skilled it's not dangerous it just is.
I'd think it was mad to try and do a backflip off a wall but someone more gymnastic could pull it easily. Is it dangerous? Depends.
Isn't the danger to others or rather the perceived danger they experience? So they might see 'danger' and move or act in a way that leads to them injuring themselves or having a collision.
Isn't that how a lot of the assault rules work? It's not necessarily causing injury as causing the fear of injury.
Serves him right and good to see plod doing their job, now lets see more action on dangerous driving, illegal migrants, mass demonstrations breaking covid rules, grooming gangs etc etc...
The image has been taken at very high ISO, so it appears grainy. Still, as the photographer (who uploaded the photo to Flickr) hasn't been credited properly, he will remain largely anonymous.
“He was cautioned by the officer who explained that it was an offence to cycle dangerously, and that he might injure someone else as well as himself. To that he replied: ‘I enjoy it’.”
Sad reflection on the lad's mentality that his enjoying something is the sole justification for breaking the law and endangering people.
I'm surprised this lad keeps getting away with it, or is still alive.
https://www.youtube.com/c/LittleHarry15/videos
Yep, suprised the Police haven't been in touch like when drivers film themselves being twats.
Gentleman's walk is a really busy pedestrian area. First time warning, second time punishment seems a perfectly reasonable response.
I like seeing kids pulling wheelies - it shows they're enjoying themselves. But 24 is a bit old to be doing it, isn't it? (Not that I'm jealous or anything).
Agreed. Reasonable police officer and punishment. Now what about the illegal number plates and red light crashing by motorists which don't even receive a response?
It is about his offence not that of others you fool. Remove fool as ‘HarrogateSpa’ is upset.
Make your point, but leave out the personal insult. An edit function is available and I suggest you use it.
Sorry I up set you. Tame compared to what goes on here at times with the passive/aggressive nature of some people. If your are a little sensitive with the term ‘fool’ You must struggle on a daily basis to cope.
Yp thumbs up to the edit button.
I got no problem with this fine except gargantuan amounts of dangerous driving (caught on camera) is let off by the police every year . To be clear that police officer seemed pretty reasonable - the idiot should have listened to him
Agreed.
Good skills n all but do them away from people.
I'm jealous = I can't wheelie ;-(
I reckon he was a bit unlucky to get caught for doing that - I generally consider wheelying cyclists to be very competent at handling their bikes. Whether or not he was a danger to pedestrians though is going to be a value judgement by the police officer involved and it does sound like he (the cyclist) was being inconsiderate.
Shame - I love seeing people doing wheelies.
I agree the danger is subjective, some pedestrians are intimidated at the mere sight of a bicycle in 'their' zone but the victim surcharge suggests more has gone on.
The victim surcharge isn't related to what damage was done - it's specified by law and the money is then pooled and used to provide compensation to victims of crime.
1st time: Don't do that, it's dangerous.
2nd time: Now you pay the £159 stupidity tax.
Another nail in the coffin of the myth that cyclists are exempt from rules and regulations.
Yeah, but if a driver gets caught doing wheelies in a pedestrian area they'd get fined much more and get three points on their licence. It's a war on drivers init.
If a cyclist jumps a red light they can get points on their license too
No they can't.
I don't have a cycling licence, and I don't know anyone who has; how do you get points on a non-existent licence?
Maybe in your country where ever that might be.
I don't know where that might be but here in Germany a cyclist who is caught riding under the influence of alcohol (I believe at a higher level than car drivers) can lose their driving licence. I remember reading years ago that that punishment was tossed out by a court but since then it has been adopted. Not sure about points on a driving licence for running red lights..
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