C
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=eXNMAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage#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=eXNMAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage#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/scri...30.50.1.45&Lang=1&imageID=165871&format=large
A Salvo-style quadricycle (there's a fourth tiny trailing wheel) from
that era:
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scri...r=II-78698&Lang=1&imageID=148545&format=large
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
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=eXNMAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage#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=eXNMAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage#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/scri...30.50.1.45&Lang=1&imageID=165871&format=large
A Salvo-style quadricycle (there's a fourth tiny trailing wheel) from
that era:
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scri...r=II-78698&Lang=1&imageID=148545&format=large
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
