Continuing our Whiteladies Road coverage, here is Oakfield Road, the zebra crossing by it, then the bus/bike lane leading up to the double parking area by the BBC. Note that when the Kingsdown RPZ is rolled out, the council will steal the double parking opportunities here, which will reduce the parking capacity of the street by about a third.
We've covered this crossing before, and yes, cars do often drive through without stopping. But today, its an inbound bike that goes through the crossing ignoring that outdated bit of the highway code that says you should stop for pedestrians. We don't agree with that law ourselves, so aren't going to criticise a bicycle for doing what we'd do, if only the van parked in the bus lane wasn't stopping us getting into that lane and doing the same trick.
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6 comments:
The bicycle didn't stop for the person wearing a camera, but that person seemed to be moving awfully fast down Oakfield Road for a pedestrian. I reckon that person wasn't a pedestrian at all but another cyclist. Why should a cyclist stop for another cyclist who's breaking the law by using a zebra crossing? Check the Highway Code: "You MUST, *even when wheeling your cycle*...". You cyclists like to behave like pedestrians one moment and proper road users the next. You want to make your mind up. You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
We've had this discussion with other videos. The cyclist dismounts and walks over. At that point it is actually a requirement for vehicles to stop. We do not know about other bicycles, but since the cyclist is now walking, we aren't sure if they are allowed to be run over.
We do appreciate your comments that cyclists should not be allowed to walk over zebra crossing, and we are pleased to reassure you that the bristol showcase bus route plans will do their best to prevent this by making it impossible to safely walk a bike with a tagalong or trailer over whiteladies road either at this crossing or up by Clifton Down Shopping centre.
Doing some searches, th best coverage of the bicycle on zebra issue is by Transport For London. They say HWY code 64 kicks in "no cycling on the pavement", but if the bicycle is being pushed, that's OK.
There's some good stats there, 50% of london drivers don't know they highway code, which can be verified by trying to drive over any roundabout in London, where certain concepts "be in the right lane" seems to be something most Bristol drivers get right, but which in London are only a hint.
Some more research brings up a court case Crank v Brooks [1980]: In his judgment in the Court of Appeal in Crank v Brooks, Waller LJ stated:
"In my judgement a person who is walking across a pedestrian crossing pushing a bicycle, having started on the pavement on one side on her feet and not on the bicycle, and going across pushing the bicycle with both feet on the ground so to speak is clearly a 'foot passenger'. If for example she had been using it as a scooter by having one foot on the pedal and pushing herself along, she would not have been a 'foot passenger'. But the fact that she had the bicycle in her hand and was walking does not create any difference from a case where she is walking without a bicycle in her hand. I regard it as unarguable the finding that she was not a foot passenger "
.
The implication here is that it is legal for someone to walk a bicycle over a crossing. Section 36 of the 1998 Road Traffic Law says that the signs apply to anyone "propelling a vehicle", but sadly, walking with a bicycle seems to be exempt from this.
Interestingly, that judge's quote about scooters implies that scootering on the pavement may be illegal.
See also Highway code rule 191
"You MUST NOT overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing or the vehicle nearest the crossing which has stopped to give way to pedestrians."
That implies that vehicles in a bus lane should not overtake on the inside any vehicle stopped for pedestrians.
@Roger
Thanks for acknowledging that cyclists can be, "proper road users," although I am not sure that this fits with the editorial stance of Bristol Traffic who quite rightly see cyclists as tax dodging subversives who have no rights to be treated properly on our precious strips of tarmac (whether that has strip has stripes on it or not!)
@Rhode I didn't say acknowledge cyclist are proper road users. I acknowledged they sometimes like to behave like other road users. I'm perfectly aware they're a bunch of tax dodging subversives.
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