A group of cyclists were filmed and stopped by police officers after being seen riding at nearly 40mph down a 30mph road in Devon.

While speed limits do not apply to cyclists, Devon and Cornwall’s Roads Policing Team explained they were asked “to be mindful” of their speed and how this could affect a collision.

Throughout the 30-second clip, the cyclists can be seen speeding down winded roads and through pedestrian crossings shortly after 9.30am yesterday morning.

A visible speedometer shows the group to be travelling between 37 to 39mph during the descent.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), police officers said: “Cyclists, please be mindful of your speeds and just how this will effect you in the event of a collision.

“This group today on Dartmoor observed travelling at near 40mph on a 30mph restricted road. All stopped and offered appropriate words of advice.”

The Highway Code does not set out speed limits for cyclists in the same manner as vehicles, meaning that cyclists cannot be fined.

They can however be charged with dangerous cycling under the 1988 Road and Traffic Act Section 28, which sets out that an offence has been committed if “the way they ride falls far below what could be expected of a competent and careful cyclist”.

Attracting nearly a million views, the video has divided social media with a number of people calling for the same speed limits to apply for all road users.

“Stopping a bike like this in an emergency at 40mph downhill is nigh on impossible,” one wrote. “A bike travelling like this can kill someone on impact.”

Another said: “Breaking the law or not it is totally irresponsible to travel on any vehicle at 40 mph in a 30 mph limit. It’s 30 for a reason.”

However, road safety campaigner Cycling Mikey retaliated by stressing that there was “no evidence” of an offence in the video.

He wrote: “They weren’t breaking the law. The speed limit doesn’t apply to cyclists. That’s probably quite reasonable when a bicycle weighs maybe 10kg and an average car 1.5-2 tonnes.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/cyclists-break-speed-limit-devon-police-b2404526.html

The much-lauded - in this group, at least - Road Safety unit at Devon &
Cornwall Police, sometimes in the form of its Head, one Adrian Leisk, now
feels the lash of the long-tongued self-righteous if not know-it-all
cyclist, presumably because he (in the form of his unit) failed to toe the
line regarding the cyclist gospel of always being right over everything
including the wisdom (or more correctly, the lack of it) of cycling down
Devon’s hills at speeds greater than that allowed by law for motor traffic.

Now read on…but have your vomit bag to hand…

…and wonder at the mental capacity of those who at such speeds approach a
near-blind junction complete with zebra crossing, seemingly without much
anticipation. For all they knew, a right-of-way cyclist could have sailed
blithely on to the said zebra crossing at just the wrong time. What’s the
stopping distance for a bicycle travelling at 40mph?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> A group of cyclists were filmed and stopped by police officers after
> being seen riding at nearly 40mph down a 30mph road in Devon.
>
> While speed limits do not apply to cyclists, Devon and Cornwall’s Roads
> Policing Team explained they were asked “to be mindful” of their speed
> and how this could affect a collision.
>
> Throughout the 30-second clip, the cyclists can be seen speeding down
> winded roads and through pedestrian crossings shortly after 9.30am yesterday morning.
>
> A visible speedometer shows the group to be travelling between 37 to
> 39mph during the descent.
>
> In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), police officers said:
> “Cyclists, please be mindful of your speeds and just how this will effect
> you in the event of a collision.
>
> “This group today on Dartmoor observed travelling at near 40mph on a
> 30mph restricted road. All stopped and offered appropriate words of advice.”
>
> The Highway Code does not set out speed limits for cyclists in the same
> manner as vehicles, meaning that cyclists cannot be fined.
>
> They can however be charged with dangerous cycling under the 1988 Road
> and Traffic Act Section 28, which sets out that an offence has been
> committed if “the way they ride falls far below what could be expected of
> a competent and careful cyclist”.
>
> Attracting nearly a million views, the video has divided social media
> with a number of people calling for the same speed limits to apply for all road users.
>
> “Stopping a bike like this in an emergency at 40mph downhill is nigh on
> impossible,” one wrote. “A bike travelling like this can kill someone on impact.”
>
> Another said: “Breaking the law or not it is totally irresponsible to
> travel on any vehicle at 40 mph in a 30 mph limit. It’s 30 for a reason.”
>
> However, road safety campaigner Cycling Mikey retaliated by stressing
> that there was “no evidence” of an offence in the video.
>
> He wrote: “They weren’t breaking the law. The speed limit doesn’t apply
> to cyclists. That’s probably quite reasonable when a bicycle weighs maybe
> 10kg and an average car 1.5-2 tonnes.”
>
> https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/cyclists-break-speed-limit-devon-police-b2404526.html
>

--
Spike

QUOTE: Another said: “Breaking the law or not it is totally irresponsible to travel on any vehicle at 40 mph in a 30 mph limit. ENDS

"Half (50%) of car drivers broke the speed limit on 30mph roads compared to 45% on motorways and 11% on national speed limit single carriageway roads, new data from the Department for Transport (DfT) shows."

OH DEAR - TRY AGAIN.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: Another said: “Breaking the law or not it is totally irresponsible
> to travel on any vehicle at 40 mph in a 30 mph limit. ENDS
>
> "Half (50%) of car drivers broke the speed limit on 30mph roads compared
> to 45% on motorways and 11% on national speed limit single carriageway
> roads, new data from the Department for Transport (DfT) shows."
>
> OH DEAR - TRY AGAIN.

Apples and oranges again…

The road the cyclists were speeding on was neither a national speed limit
single carriageway road nor a motorway.

OH DEAR - TRY AGAIN.

--
Spike

On Monday, September 4, 2023 at 6:06:40 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> QUOTE: Another said: “Breaking the law or not it is totally irresponsible to travel on any vehicle at 40 mph in a 30 mph limit. ENDS
>
> "Half (50%) of car drivers broke the speed limit on 30mph roads compared to 45% on motorways and 11% on national speed limit single carriageway roads, new data from the Department for Transport (DfT) shows."
>
> OH DEAR - TRY AGAIN.

NOPE - HAVE ANOTHER GO.

85% Of Car Drivers Break 20mph Speed Limits, Reveals U.K.’s Department For Transport.

Statistics published today by the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) show that in 2022 85% of the car drivers in Great Britain broke the law by driving faster than the speed limit in 20mph zones. On roads with a 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law, reveals the annual DfT report on speed limit compliance.

The measurements are based on speed data from a sample of Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs) around the country. These exclude locations where external factors might restrict driver behavior, such as at junctions, on hills, beside sharp bends or where speed cameras are visible, says the DfT report.

“The statistics provide insights into speeds at which drivers choose to travel when free to do so,” says the DfT, adding that they are “not representative of the level of speeding across the whole road network, which we would expect to be lower.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2023/08/24/85-of-car-drivers-break-20mph-speed-limits-reveals-uks-department-for-transport/?sh=510baea65c9a

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, September 4, 2023 at 6:06:40/PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> QUOTE: Another said: Breaking the law or not it is totally
>> irresponsible to travel on any vehicle at 40 mph in a 30 mph limit. ENDS
>>
>> "Half (50%) of car drivers broke the speed limit on 30mph roads compared
>> to 45% on motorways and 11% on national speed limit single carriageway
>> roads, new data from the Department for Transport (DfT) shows."
>>
>> OH DEAR - TRY AGAIN.
>
> NOPE - HAVE ANOTHER GO.

> 85% Of Car Drivers Break 20mph Speed Limits, Reveals U.K.s Department For Transport.

> Statistics published today by the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT)
> show that in 2022 85% of the car drivers in Great Britain broke the law
> by driving faster than the speed limit in 20mph zones. On roads with a
> 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law, reveals the annual DfT
> report on speed limit compliance.

> The measurements are based on speed data from a sample of Automatic
> Traffic Counters (ATCs) around the country. These exclude locations where
> external factors might restrict driver behavior, such as at junctions, on
> hills, beside sharp bends or where speed cameras are visible, says the DfT report.

> The statistics provide insights into speeds at which drivers choose to
> travel when free to do so, says the DfT, adding that they are not
> representative of the level of speeding across the whole road network,
> which we would expect to be lower.

> https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2023/08/24/85-of-car-drivers-break-20mph-speed-limits-reveals-uks-department-for-transport/?shQ0baea65c9a

So, what this report says is that where there are no danger spots, such as
at junctions, on hills, beside sharp bends or where speed cameras are
visible, the speed limits are set too low.

SO - HAVE ANOTHER GO.

--
Spike

As many as 87% of Britain’s car drivers routinely break the speed limit in 20mph residential areas, according to the latest figures from the Department for Transport.

The new statistics released earlier this week, compiled throughout 2021, also show 51% of drivers still go over the 30mph limit.

Even though speeding came down from a spike of 63% during the first lockdown, the return to pre-pandemic levels of traffic looks to have had no long-term impact on driver behaviour.

The data also reveals that 48% of motorists broke the speed limit on motorways, although this fell to 11% of cars for single carriageways last year.

Drivers exceeding the speed limit by more than 10mph hovered around 5-6% last year, while 10% went over the speed limit by at least 10mph on motorways..

Only 1% of car drivers on single carriageways broke the speed limit by more than 10mph.

Respondents who admitted to exceeding the speed limit gave the top excuse as: ‘I drive according to the speed of other road users’. On 20mph roads, users most often cited the speed limit as being ‘inappropriate’.

Other popular reasons given for breaking the speed limit were: ‘It’s sometimes safer to go faster’, ‘pressure from other drivers’ and ‘I don’t look at the speedometer enough’.

The government figures are based on driver behaviour on roads with free-flowing traffic where there are no impediments such as bends or steep climbs.

Responding to the new data, Greg Wilson, Founder of leading car insurance comparison platform Quotezone.co.uk, says: “It’s staggering to realise that half of all motorists are still breaking the speed limit in residential 30mph zones and there is no encouraging longer-term downward trend. Residential areas are one of the areas drivers should be most cautious, given the high volume of pedestrians and children playing so it’s worrying that this is still an issue.

“While many drivers might think it’s a minor fault breaking the speed limit by a small margin, the law takes a different view. There’s no ‘look the other way’ if motorists go over a speed limit by less than 10 percent – that’s a myth.”

Motorists can face a fine of £100 and three penalty points on their licence if they break the speed limit – which can increase to six points and a fine of up to £1,000 if they’re doing more than 41mph in a 30mph zone.

Wilson says penalty points can add anything from 5% to car insurance premiums for the first three points on a licence, which can rise to 25% for six points.

Wilson continues: “If convicted, it’s important to be honest and fully disclose the offence to your insurance provider, because failure to do so can result in the policy being invalidated, meaning you won’t be covered. Some providers do offer car insurance policies with competitive rates for convicted drivers, which can help motorists find an affordable premium, but it probably goes without saying that the best way to keep your car insurance price low is to obey the speed limit.”

https://www.driving.org/nearly-90-of-drivers-break-speed-limit-in-20mph-residential-areas/