Well, I've done a bit of digging, and, it looks like there might be 2
possible 'get outs'.
According to this page;
http://www.bikeforall.net/content/cy...nd_the_law.php
The primary legislation which makes cycling on a footway an offence is
section 72 of the 1835 Highways Act, this provides that a person shall
be guilty of an offence if he "shall wilfully ride upon any footpath or
causeway by the side of any road made or set apart for the use or
accommodation of foot-passengers or shall wilfully lead or drive any
carriage of any description upon any such footpath or causeway."
Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1888 extended the definition of
"carriage" to include "bicycles, tricycles, velocipedes and other
similar machines."
although it would probably be reasonable to assume that a unicycle
would be classed as -similar -to a bicycle.
A letter from the Home Office Minister states, however;
The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible
cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of
traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing
so.
I think it should be safe to assume that I was riding responsibly and
considerately.
I know what the "correct" thing to do was, and I do often overtake
traffic on the right if the route through on the left is blocked,
although in this situation, I considered it, but due to bollards at the
front by the traffic lights, I didn't think I would be able to safely
get through. I can't idle on my coker, sadly, so the only other option
would have been to dismount. My mounting skills on the 36" wheel
aren't that great either
I appreciate that from some view points, it would be nice to have
things legally defined as to what we can do, but at the same time we
don't want things legally defined as to what we cannot do. I'll try to
seek a bit more advice over the weekend, and will keep you guys
updated.
STM
--
semach.the.monkey
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