Does Speeding Apply To Cycling?



lectraplayer

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May 11, 2014
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I see very low speed limits on some streets, when it looks safe to drive at 40mph. That said, has anybody heard if speed is sometimes regulated in these areas where I can pedal faster than the speed limit?
 
I think that if we don't have a licence plate some traffic laws can't be applied to us, but I just might be wrong here. I never heard a bike getting a ticket for speeding. :)
 
In the UK, it is not possible to do a cyclist for speeding, only to book them for "wanton and furious pedalling"!
But I have to confess I take great pride in setting off a speed camera when I am cycling! It is so much fun (where safe to do so)... :p
 
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In the US, cyclists are subject to traffic laws and can be cited for violations. I have been on a few charity rides and officers where ticketing riders for failing to stop at controlled intersections. The same applies to speed laws, though I have not heard of anyone ever being ticked for it.
 
Connie858 said:
In the UK, it is not possible to do a cyclist for speeding, only to book them for "wanton and furious pedalling"!
But I have to confess I take great pride in setting off a speed camera when I am cycling! It is so much fun (where safe to do so)... :p
We have similar devices in the states, that flash your speed as you pass. They often won't pick up a CF frame bike. I wonder whether real police radar can get a good enough return to register a rider's speed accurately, on a carbon bike?

In any event, I can't see any officer in my general area citing a bike for speeding.
 
As previously stated, cyclists are subject to the same Uniform Vehicle Code as motorized traffic...at least here in The Great State Of Ohio.

There are a few states that afford cyclists a legal rolling stop.

As far as speed limits go, theoretically cyclists are bound by the posted limits. Personally, I have never known a cyclist to be cited for speeding. I have known cyclists warned for running a traffic control device and a few cited for that offense.

I have had police officers pace me and hit me with radar/Lidar/laser (couldn't tell you which) and then pull along side tell me with an amazed voice, "Did you know you were going XX MPH?!?!?!". Never a speed warning or citation, just disbelief a human could move along at the insane speed of 28 MPH or whatever I was doing at the time.

Now...about that time two Deputies pulled me and my Colnago over and pointed revolvers at me (pre-semi auto pistol days) for a double-homicide...
 
Yes cyclist have been cited for speed violations many times. Not me but others have. In the US that is.
 
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maydog said:
In the US, cyclists are subject to traffic laws and can be cited for violations. I have been on a few charity rides and officers where ticketing riders for failing to stop at controlled intersections. The same applies to speed laws, though I have not heard of anyone ever being ticked for it.
In the UK we are still bound by much the same laws, (there are some additional ones and some that are excluded), however, given that a speeding offence requires you to actually know your speed and be over it, and by UK law, this requires a functional and annually tested (once the vehicle is over 3 years old) speedometer, and that there is no requirement by law for a bike to have a speedometer, it is not possible in the UK to actually prosecute a cyclist for being over the speed limit. Items such as Garmin Edges, smartphones and other (older style) speedometers are not recognized under UK law as calibrated devices and subject to annual testing/validation or a legal requirement on bikes. In the UK if your (vehicle) speedo is not working at all or correctly, you are prosecuted under other laws with stiffer penalties.

So does the US actually require a cyclist to know their speed and be able to prove it?
 
While I knew cyclists are bound by other laws, such as stop signs and red lights (though I've seen another thread on when you don't need to stay stopped at a red light, a seperate subject. I'm not sure if cyclists are bound to stay stopped in a ghost town). However, everytime I have tried to research laws, I get a whole lot of nothing.
 
Quote by Connie:
"So does the US actually require a cyclist to know their speed and be able to prove it?"

No. There is no law in Ohio requiring a bicycle to be equipped with a speedometer. The lowest speed limit commonly encountered on a city or urban street is 25 MPH or maybe the typical 20 MPH school zones. Going 25+ MPH takes some effort.

Our LEO's rarely cite for anything less than 10 MPH over the limit, so let's say a cyclist would have to be doing something really boneheaded while in a flat out sprint to get a summons to municipal traffic court in my area.

Reflectors and lights are codified for night time riding. The number of riders is specified (kids riding on handlebars are scofflaws!).

And oddly enough, Ohio requires a working brake. My track bike is deemed illegal for road use.
 
I've always assumed that speed limits (and other traffic laws) apply to cyclists as well. Although I've never heard a cyclist booked for over-speeding. Most bike offences that people get tickets for where I live include biking without a helmet, and not wearing appropriate bike lights. I wonder why cyclists are ticketed. I don't know a single cyclist friend that has paid one.
 
Connie858 said:
In the UK, it is not possible to do a cyclist for speeding, only to book them for "wanton and furious pedalling"!
But I have to confess I take great pride in setting off a speed camera when I am cycling! It is so much fun (where safe to do so)... :p
It's not unheard of in the UK for cyclist being excluded from their cycling clubs when found speeding - but this I believe is for some extreme cases.
 
In the UK we are still bound by much the same laws, (there are some additional ones and some that are excluded), however, given that a speeding offence requires you to actually know your speed and be over it, and by UK law, this requires a functional and annually tested (once the vehicle is over 3 years old) speedometer, and that there is no requirement by law for a bike to have a speedometer, it is not possible in the UK to actually prosecute a cyclist for being over the speed limit. Items such as Garmin Edges, smartphones and other (older style) speedometers are not recognized under UK law as calibrated devices and subject to annual testing/validation or a legal requirement on bikes. In the UK if your (vehicle) speedo is not working at all or correctly, you are prosecuted under other laws with stiffer penalties.

So does the US actually require a cyclist to know their speed and be able to prove it?
I've heard of one local cyclist who received a speeding ticket. In fact, I speed every time I roll out of my driveway, usually going 38-40 mph in a 25 mph zone....coasting downhill of course. Certainly I could be ticketed for speeding, but we have almost zero traffic enforcement here so it's very unlikely.

Also, I have to question your statement that in the UK drivers are required to know their speed to be given a ticket. With all the speed cameras there, that just doesn't make sense. I've been in a car traveling many hundreds of miles there in the last couple years. We always tried to keep it at 78 mph or lower on the M roads, particularly when approaching thespeed cams.
 
While I sometimes push the limit through downhill curves, I always slow for school zones, and I'm (usually) prepared to stop at pedestrian crosswalks. In front of Whole Foods in Boulder that's imperative, because pedestrians tend to walk out without looking.
 
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I slow down in school zone also,damn those high school cheerleader look more developed than they use to.:)
 
jhuskey said:
I slow down in school zone also,damn those high school cheerleader look more developed than they use to.:)
You get older but they stay the same age.
 
Living proof, have been pulled over 4 times on a bicycle.

Once for riding two abreast, a group of us were pulled over, the cop was wrong, we were within our legal rights. - no ticket
Once for going the wrong way on a one-way street (it's a little harder to explain but that's the nuts and bolts) - no ticket
Twice for speeding. Most recently 2 years ago. I got clocked doing 28 in a 20. - no ticket, let go with a warning. While I had no license the cop called in my info and looked up my record.
Years ago, end of the ride I sprinted the finish and blew buy a cop doing 34 in a 25. - ticketed.
 
Quote by OBC:
"In front of Whole Foods in Boulder that's imperative, because pedestrians tend to walk out without looking."

Libtard vegans. Mow 'em down.


Quote by JH:
"I slow down in school zone also,damn those high school cheerleader look more developed than they use to.:)"

I always carry a jersey pocket full of candy! :D


Quote by OBC:
"You get older but they stay the same age."

Where's the 'Crying' smiley?


Quote by ABN:
"Years ago, end of the ride I sprinted the finish and blew buy a cop doing 34 in a 25. - ticketed."

Where the Hellz was this?! What kind of LEO cites a stud for winning the town sign 200-meter championship of the world?!?! Damn...while 34 ain't Cav-Speed, I'ld frame that ***** and hang it on the wall.
 
OK, story time.

I never made it to traffic court on 2-wheels, bike or motorbike. Cars? We won't go there...

Now, I swear this one is true on my mother's grave!

Back in the early eighties I was a hotshot Cat Douche on a Saronni Red Colnago.

I had this screaming 45 MPH downhill on one of my training loops that, unfortunately, had a 4-way stop at the bottom...luck of the Godz, eh? Well, visibility was unobstructed for 1/4-mile in all directions and traffic was usually nonexistant so rarely did Campy get his brake blocks in a lather at the bottom of said downhill. Lay it over after dropping into criterium mode, rocket that hard left hander and blast off down the next straight piece of road.

One fine, sunny afternoon I see a Sheriff's car coming towards me over the crest of that hill just as I was getting ready to bomb down off it to the sign at the bottom. We passed with just a quick glance towards each other...

A quick look over my shoulder and Johnny Law was no where to be seen...or see me run that sign at 20+. Giggity!

Dropped to the bottom like a stone! A fast turn and back on the gas as up that straight I roared with all the tiny amount of Watts my pre-Power meter ass could manage.

I heard the deep growl of an engine under heavy acceleration behind me and swiveled around to see what kind of lunatic I might have to find the ditch for.

****! It was the coppers in the Sheriff's Crown Vic and they had their lights on!

(Maybe they're after someone else???)

No way! They slow up behind me. Great! I'm going down for blowing dat sign!

I pull the Colnago over to the berm and turn around to see if it was OK to dismount. Both deputies...a male and a female...were crouched behind open doors with their guns pointed at me through the window frames and ordering me to "FREEZE!". Yeah, I'm a ice cube Mr. and Mrs. Smith & Wesson. "Hands on your head, NOW!"

Er...even in my confused state I'm sensing that something more than a moving violation is happening to me...

The male cop is holding up what would turn out to be a picture of a double-homicide suspect (drug deal gone bad the night before and the bodies were dumped along this stretch of road) and screaming, "It could be him! It could be HIM!!!".

It took backup less than 2 minutes to roll up and more than 45 minutes of fast talking not to have my beautiful Colnago unceremoniously stuffed into the trunk of a Crown Vic while I got hauled off to the County Jail for questioning.

I sweated bullets, with no I.D. on me (Rule 31 suckahs!), as I finally convinced the cops that while I WAS close to being the long lost twin brother of Mr. Murder Suspect, I was indeed only a harmless and Wattless roadie getting ready for next weekend's race.

Away I finally rolled. Free at last! Free at last!

And no tickee for the stop sign violation!
 
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