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Police Testimony Fails Against Peloton 1882
IMPORTANT ROAD RIDING CASE Mr. Percy Letchford, of the Finchley Tricycle Club, was summoned at the Brentford Petty Sessions, on Saturday last, for "furious riding" in the Kew Bridge Road, Brentford. P.C. 219 T stated that on the evening of the 14th he saw defendant and several other riders on bicycles and tricycles, riding at twelve miles an hour [1]. They passed him, and he called to them to stop; they did not do so, and he then ran after them, and caught hold of defendant's wheel, who, on being stopped, refused his name and address, preferring to go to the police station. When there he (the constable) charged him with furious driving. In cross-examination by Mr. Horace Avory, who appeared for the defendant, the constable admitted that defendant was not upset by being stopped; that the distance he ran was 20 yards; that defendant was 10 yards from the kerb (there being no kerb), and that the road was 30 yards wide (it being as a fact only 40 feet wide); that he would swear that there were more than five riders (as a matter of fact there were M'Cullum and Letchford on tri's, and Weeks, Oliver Thorn, and Temple Nicholson on bi's) [2]. Sergeant Walsh and Inspector Blake gave formal evidence as to what transpired at the police station, which is devoid of interest to cyclists. Mr. Horace Avory first disclaimed any wish to dispute that a tricycle was a "carriage" within the meaning of the Act, although he thought that even that was open to argument [3], and he then went on to state that having no technical knowledge of cycling himself he would leave the case to his witnesses, but previously he called attention to the absurdity of the constable's evidence, who stated that he met the riders, called on them to stop, waited to see if they did so, and then went after them and caught them all in 20 yards-—a practical impossibility if they were riding furiously. He then called, Mr. W. A. Smith, who appeared by subpoena, and stated that he had never seen Mr. Letchford until within two hours of the occurrence, but was riding back in his company. He said they were travelling about seven miles an hour; that no one except an expert could judge of the speed at which a machine travelled; that the machine in question was "geared down," so that in order to cover the same distance with ten revolutions of the wheel, as the machine which he (witness) was riding, the defendant would have to make 14 revolutions of his feet [4], which would naturally lead to a supposition that the defendant was spurting to catch the witness up. The Chairman then said that after the very lucid manner in which the witness had given his evidence, it was needless to call additional witnesses. It was clear that the constable had made a mistake, and the Bench would dismiss the summons. Mr. Horace Avory then stated that he had appeared on behalf of the Bicycle Union, but it must not be supposed for one moment that that body countenanced furious riding, but they thought that as this was clearly a mistaken charge they ought to defend it. --London Bicycle Club Gazette, 1882, p.67-8 http://books.google.com/books?id=eXN...e#PRA2-PA68,M1 [1] Actually, P.C. 219 T's claim that the riders blew past him at 12 mph was not utterly plausible. A year earlier, the London Bicycle Club Gazette had covered the 1882 record of twenty miles in a hour: http://books.google.com/books?id=eXN...#PRA2-PA181,M1 [2] Er, as a matter of fact, P.C. 219 T was correct when he claimed that there were more than five riders. Five riders are listed by name, but a sixth rider will mysteriously appear later, W.A. Smith. [3] A common defense in early traffic cases was to claim that the well-established carriage laws did not apply to tricycles and bicycles because they were not carriages, a loophole eagerly exploited on both sides of the Atlantic. [4] The low gearing mentioned by the wily lawyer was for defendant Letchford's tricycle. Such lumbering beasts were usually geared down to deal with awkward seating and their weight, which was around 75 pounds. A popular Coventry Rotary tricycle from that era: http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scrip...1&format=large A Salvo-style quadricycle (there's a fourth tiny trailing wheel) from that era: http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scrip...5&format=large Cheers, Carl Fogel |
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Police Testimony Fails Against Peloton 1882
wrote in message ... IMPORTANT ROAD RIDING CASE Mr. Percy Letchford, of the Finchley Tricycle Club, was summoned at the Brentford Petty Sessions, on Saturday last, for "furious riding" in the Kew Bridge Road, Brentford. P.C. 219 T stated that on the evening of the 14th he saw defendant and several other riders on bicycles and tricycles, riding at twelve miles an hour [1]. They passed him, and he called to them to stop; they did not do so, and he then ran after them, and caught hold of defendant's wheel, who, on being stopped, refused his name and address, preferring to go to the police station. When there he (the constable) charged him with furious driving. In cross-examination by Mr. Horace Avory, who appeared for the defendant, the constable admitted that defendant was not upset by being stopped; that the distance he ran was 20 yards; that defendant was 10 yards from the kerb (there being no kerb), and that the road was 30 yards wide (it being as a fact only 40 feet wide); that he would swear that there were more than five riders (as a matter of fact there were M'Cullum and Letchford on tri's, and Weeks, Oliver Thorn, and Temple Nicholson on bi's) [2]. Sergeant Walsh and Inspector Blake gave formal evidence as to what transpired at the police station, which is devoid of interest to cyclists. Mr. Horace Avory first disclaimed any wish to dispute that a tricycle was a "carriage" within the meaning of the Act, although he thought that even that was open to argument [3], and he then went on to state that having no technical knowledge of cycling himself he would leave the case to his witnesses, but previously he called attention to the absurdity of the constable's evidence, who stated that he met the riders, called on them to stop, waited to see if they did so, and then went after them and caught them all in 20 yards--a practical impossibility if they were riding furiously. He then called, Mr. W. A. Smith, who appeared by subpoena, and stated that he had never seen Mr. Letchford until within two hours of the occurrence, but was riding back in his company. He said they were travelling about seven miles an hour; that no one except an expert could judge of the speed at which a machine travelled; that the machine in question was "geared down," so that in order to cover the same distance with ten revolutions of the wheel, as the machine which he (witness) was riding, the defendant would have to make 14 revolutions of his feet [4], which would naturally lead to a supposition that the defendant was spurting to catch the witness up. The Chairman then said that after the very lucid manner in which the witness had given his evidence, it was needless to call additional witnesses. It was clear that the constable had made a mistake, and the Bench would dismiss the summons. Mr. Horace Avory then stated that he had appeared on behalf of the Bicycle Union, but it must not be supposed for one moment that that body countenanced furious riding, but they thought that as this was clearly a mistaken charge they ought to defend it. --London Bicycle Club Gazette, 1882, p.67-8 http://books.google.com/books?id=eXN...e#PRA2-PA68,M1 [1] Actually, P.C. 219 T's claim that the riders blew past him at 12 mph was not utterly plausible. A year earlier, the London Bicycle Club Gazette had covered the 1882 record of twenty miles in a hour: http://books.google.com/books?id=eXN...#PRA2-PA181,M1 [2] Er, as a matter of fact, P.C. 219 T was correct when he claimed that there were more than five riders. Five riders are listed by name, but a sixth rider will mysteriously appear later, W.A. Smith. [3] A common defense in early traffic cases was to claim that the well-established carriage laws did not apply to tricycles and bicycles because they were not carriages, a loophole eagerly exploited on both sides of the Atlantic. [4] The low gearing mentioned by the wily lawyer was for defendant Letchford's tricycle. Such lumbering beasts were usually geared down to deal with awkward seating and their weight, which was around 75 pounds. A popular Coventry Rotary tricycle from that era: http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scrip...1&format=large A Salvo-style quadricycle (there's a fourth tiny trailing wheel) from that era: http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scrip...5&format=large Cheers, Carl Fogel "I was proceeding in a Southerly direction, milord, when I heard uh, strange sounds coming from the Walldor place, milord. A sort of boogie-woogie music was being played. On further investigation, I saw the defendant standing there with a guitar and an old hat on the floor collecting pennies. Well, I decided that uh, he was contravening a breach of the peace, there as there was a traffic jam about five miles long down on Walldor street, wondering what all the uh, fuss was about, so then I arrested the uh, defendant" Long John Baldry "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll" Chas. |
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Police Testimony Fails Against Peloton 1882
In article ,
"* * Chas" wrote: "I was proceeding in a Southerly direction, milord, when I heard uh, strange sounds coming from the Walldor place, milord. A sort of boogie-woogie music was being played. On further investigation, I saw the defendant standing there with a guitar and an old hat on the floor collecting pennies. Well, I decided that uh, he was contravening a breach of the peace, there as there was a traffic jam about five miles long down on Walldor street, wondering what all the uh, fuss was about, so then I arrested the uh, defendant" Long John Baldry "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll" Also well covered by Jack Dupree. That is Wardour street. Boojie Woojie music, forsooth! -- Michael Press |
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Police Testimony Fails Against Peloton 1882
"Michael Press" wrote in message ... In article , "* * Chas" wrote: "I was proceeding in a Southerly direction, milord, when I heard uh, strange sounds coming from the Walldor place, milord. A sort of boogie-woogie music was being played. On further investigation, I saw the defendant standing there with a guitar and an old hat on the floor collecting pennies. Well, I decided that uh, he was contravening a breach of the peace, there as there was a traffic jam about five miles long down on Walldor street, wondering what all the uh, fuss was about, so then I arrested the uh, defendant" Long John Baldry "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll" Also well covered by Jack Dupree. That is Wardour street. Boojie Woojie music, forsooth! -- Michael Press “Uh, just one moment, officer. Wh-what is this boojie-woojie music here we ’re talking about?” About three lines down is when that GREAT guitar riff kicks in! ;-) Chas. |
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Police Testimony Fails Against Peloton 1882
"Michael Press" wrote in message ... In article , "* * Chas" wrote: "I was proceeding in a Southerly direction, milord, when I heard uh, strange sounds coming from the Walldor place, milord. A sort of boogie-woogie music was being played. On further investigation, I saw the defendant standing there with a guitar and an old hat on the floor collecting pennies. Well, I decided that uh, he was contravening a breach of the peace, there as there was a traffic jam about five miles long down on Walldor street, wondering what all the uh, fuss was about, so then I arrested the uh, defendant" Long John Baldry "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll" Also well covered by Jack Dupree. That is Wardour street. Boojie Woojie music, forsooth! -- Michael Press Oh and by the way, that's Elton John on the ivories with Ron Wood on guitar and Rod Stewart in the background.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsr4UsjgGuA Chas. |
#7
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Police Testimony Fails Against Peloton 1882
In article ,
"* * Chas" wrote: "Michael Press" wrote in message ... In article , "* * Chas" wrote: "I was proceeding in a Southerly direction, milord, when I heard uh, strange sounds coming from the Walldor place, milord. A sort of boogie-woogie music was being played. On further investigation, I saw the defendant standing there with a guitar and an old hat on the floor collecting pennies. Well, I decided that uh, he was contravening a breach of the peace, there as there was a traffic jam about five miles long down on Walldor street, wondering what all the uh, fuss was about, so then I arrested the uh, defendant" Long John Baldry "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll" Also well covered by Jack Dupree. That is Wardour street. Boojie Woojie music, forsooth! Oh and by the way, that's Elton John on the ivories with Ron Wood on guitar and Rod Stewart in the background.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsr4UsjgGuA He shook the dust loose from that piano. -- Michael Press |
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