bicycles

[erniemorton]

Is it still illegal to ride a bicycle with no lights on the highway at night. I witness countless numbers of (usually young) people doing this every evening but havent heard of a prosecution.

As a cyclist, I think they are not only risking personal injury and getting serious cyclists a bad name, but also putting motorists' lives at risk when they have to brake or swerve to avoid them. 

[Ward-Minter]

Yes it is still an offence and even the new flashing style lights are not enough.

However, apart from if by-laws allow, you can not give a cyclist a fixed penalty notice. Therefore the police will either give a verbal warning or issue a summons. I really don't think many coppers would spend about 3 hours writing up a summons for it. Further I doubt the CPS would deem it in the public interest to pursue with a court case.

Sadly it will take an accident to make the careless cyclist think about it.

[tubeway]

It is also still illegal to ride a bike on the pavement - but look at the amount of cyclists that do - I especially hate it when they are on the road then go on the pavement so they do not have to stop at a red light.

In my town there are lots of cycle paths - so they do not have to go on the pavement - but still do.

[Grunty]

I agree with Ward-Minter and tubeway.  I may be wrong, but I think they can be dealt with by fixed penalty.  The main problems are that they don't have registration numbers, so their name and address could be false.  If they are young, it is an extra job to inform their parents.  Also, some officers think it is sissy to deal with a bike when they could be waiting for a major case to come along.

[ugly_bob]

What? Like a speeding fine for a driver?

Cyclists at night with no lights are being stupid. They may think they can see, so that's OK, but it's almost impossible for drivers to see them, even if they are wearing reflective clothing!

At least they don't **** all over the road like horses though!

[mfewell]

I am a committed cyclist of many years, and I regularly cycle on the pavement. I am not talking whizzing through crowded shopping centres, but considerate use of quiet pavements and great care for pedestrians. I don't jump reds.  Where I live there are some roads where I think it is stupid for a cyclist to be on the road - it just gets motorists worked up, they overtake you dangerously and cut you up. Last winter after dark I was riding on the pavement and was stopped by a policeman. He said, "I don't have a problem with you being on the pavement, but please please get some lights !". So I use the pavement because I want to stay alive, but I do it with the utmost care.

[d0gsb0dy]

Some thirty years ago, I ran a cyclist down. It was a dark night and he had no lights. As I went to turn right onto a main road, he came out of an opposite side street to my left and rode straight across the front of me. Fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured, just a couple of bruises, but it could have been a tragedy. At the time, a dynamo kit cost about �8 from Halfords. He had been drinking, and probably spent that much in the pub.
I don't object to cyclists riding on the pavement, but the aggressive types are a bit of a pain.